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| Rowan |
Ayrton SennaThere's been so much talk of him lately, I did some youtube cruising for footage. He really was a talent, and a troubled one (so many clips of him sitting pensively in the pits), but what a loss. There's also some footage of him parking up in the middle of qualifying or the warm up after Eric Comas crashed in front of him - he races back to the wreckage and apparently saved Comas' life. I'd completely forgotten about that side of the man.I'd also forgotten how terrifying F1 seemed in 1994. Imola should have been called off after Barichello's spectacular flight on the first day of practice, before Ratzenberger was killed. It was also the year Jos Verstappen went up in flames in the pit. And at Monaco, the first race after Imola, Kurt Wendlinger had a big smash and spent weeks in a coma - I remember watching that and thinking surely it couldn't happen again so soon. I think it was also the season when Irvine hit and flipped Verstappen and he just missed taking Martin Brundle's head off. When you think that not long ago Kubica crashed in Canada and suffered only minor injuries despite experiencing 75-G of force... F1 safety has come a long long way. |
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| suejoe |
Re: Ayrton Senna
Yes Rowan, a terrible loss. Ayrton did so much for poor children all around the world. He gave most of his money to children's charities. He created the Ayrton Senna Foundation. http://senna.globo.com/institutoayrtonsenna/ingles/inst_home.asp?r=t His grave is said to attract more visitors than those of JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis combined. It was one of the saddest days of my life when he died, I could cry now just thinking about it. 
Sue |
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| Rowan |
I was so shocked, I couldn't cry at the time - I just sat and watched the race carry on in total disbelief. My flatmate came home and found me sitting on the sofa - it was only his clueless g/f wittering about a "little crash" that set me off.
I can't imagine how much pressure there must be on Bruno Senna. Mind you, this doesn't help http://www.brunosenna.com.br/ The front page pic is B Senna's shadow - or is it.... He's testing with Honda F1 next week. |
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| Owl of Minerva |
Was only 10 at the time but I vividly remember balling my eyes out in the back of my dads car after hearing on Radio 5 that it was confirmed that he'd died 
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| Rowan |
Hearing you say you were only ten has me bawling my eyes out here at the computer! 
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| westmeadhawk |
I went to church and lit a candle for him.
To me he was a great. He had charisma. I know Michael Schumacher was technically a great driver but for me he didn't have IT. Some things are never the same after seismic shifts and the loss of Senna was one of those moments. Undoubtedly the good to come out of it is the increased safety for today's drivers. |
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| Jimbob |
It's such a shame we didn't get to see Senna race Schumacher at his peak! Senna was up there with Schumie & Fangio.
RIP Ayrton... Forever in our hearts 
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| lochsong |
I watched his car smack into the wall. One of the tyres smacked him in the head didn't it. Traction control wasn't it?
Now that I think about it, F1 racing is alot safer these days. Would have loved to see the Senna/Schumacher rivalry. Sad. |
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| Rowan |
Umm. The official version is that the car lost downforce on the bumpy track after the lengthy safety car period lead to the tyres cooling dangerously but people still believe that the steering column broke and that the "proof" was destroyed before the trial (his "black box" was smashed). As for cause of death, I've seen it reported he suffered 3 separate and potentially fatal injuries - blunt force trauma to the front of the head, multiple skull fractures (which I think caused Ratzenberger's death) and finally a piece of metal pierced his skull (this can be seen in pictures of the helmet). Footage of the crash shows a great deal of blood. My belief witnessing the crash, and regardless of what was said afterwards about his being in a coma, was that he was killed outright by the accident and a "political" decision was taken to resuscitate his body - whether to allow the race to continue or because they thought it was the "safest" way to deal with the huge crowds, I don't know. |
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| lochsong |
Thanks Rowan.
You've jogged my memory and some of it's coming back now. Senna was the guy that really sparked my interest in F1. |
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