Siddhraj ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2.2K posts
The day Senna died Where were you 30 years ago tomorrow? If you were A) alive, B) old enough and of a mind to be an Ayrton Senna fan, I have no doubt you’ll be able to recall in an instant the moment you heard the greatest driver of his era had died doing what he did best. It was just one of those moments. I spent 1 May 1994 messing about with some old cars in the Elan Valley and watched the race in the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. My mind wasn’t really on it because the following day was due to be the biggest of my working life: the day we road tested the McLaren F1. Then came Tamburello. Of course everyone knew the situation was desperate though it was hard to understand why. We had seen other drivers survive apparently far worse accidents at the same corner, not least Senna’s former teammate Gerhard Berger, five years earlier. I left the hotel still not knowing the true consequences. I was driving over a small brow on a narrow lane when the news finally came. The information simply did not compute. The following day the Autocar road test team duly presented itself to the Bruntingthorpe aerodrome to start testing the F1. We didn’t even know if, under the circumstances, McLaren would turn up. But there they all were, including Gordon Murray and Jonathan Palmer, professional to the last, and over the next three days we conducted a full road test on the F1, the most bittersweet experience of my working life. So how best to remember this man on the 30thanniversary of his passing tomorrow? We thought we’d go for a drive in a Honda NSX, the car Senna is credited with helping to develop. But this isn’t just any NSX, but Senna’s own car, entrusted to Ben Oliver for the day. It’s a predictably fabulous read, and a fitting tribute to the man who, despite overwhelming statistical evidence to the contrary, I still regard as the greatest racing driver of the remotely modern era. Ben’s story will be live on the Ti website and app from 5am tomorrow. In the meantime, and if you have a minute, please let us know where you were on 1 May 1994 and how that terrible weekend affected you. By @Andrew_Frankel
