So that’s lunch-time and most of the afternoon ruined then. Earlier, just as I started unwrapping my sandwiches, Autocar’s editor-in-chief Steve Cropley – knowing my fondness for motor racing – deposited a Formula 1 themed book onto my desk.
The book is entitled ‘Ayrton Senna: All His Races’ and written by long-time Formula 1 scribe Tony Dodgins, with a foreword by Martin Brundle, Senna’s great rival in Formula Three.
As the title of the book suggests, it charts every race the Brazilian contested, from his formative exploits in karting through to that fateful Formula 1 race at Imola in 1994.
This means that although I’m supposed to be writing a review of the Vauxhall Cascada I drove at the weekend, I’m instead reminiscing about Senna’s victory in the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix for Lotus.
Fans of any sport, hobby or pastime usually remember the moment their passion took hold. Dodgins’ book reminds me that I first became fascinated with F1 at the beginning of the 1986 season, when Senna, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost battled for supremacy and Lotus, McLaren and Williams claimed the lion’s share of the victories.
The mid-1980s were a time of awakening for Formula 1. Television coverage was improving courtesy of the BBC, although the races were still mainly broadcast on late-night highlights shows on BBC2.
I remember following more than one race ‘live’ via constantly pressing ‘refresh’ on Ceefax page 361, which was showing the top-six positions, and I also dimly recall willing the 3.10 from Kempton to swiftly end so that Sunday Grandstand would return to Zeltweg, Hockenheim or Paul Ricard for the conclusion of that week's race.
Reading this new book is interesting because for many years I wasn’t a huge fan of Senna. His raging battles with Mansell polarised my view in favour of the Briton. It wasn’t until 1993, when Senna drove the wheels off his less-favoured McLaren-Ford, that I began to appreciate the true depths to his mastery.
This book does more than mechanically list the facts; it fills in the blanks, unearthing the stories behind the goings-on, augmented by memories from those who were present at the time. I can see it absorbing a few more lunch times this week.
So what’s your favourite memory of Ayrton Senna? Let me know in the responses section of this story and we’ll send the book to one of you at random… when I’ve finished reading it, of course.
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I got a few
I've got a dim recollection of THAT qualifying at Monaco in '88 (I think) in the Macca but my favourite is Donington in the lashing rain where he pitted like 5 or 6 times and simply annihilated everyone and made a mockery of the conditions.
Driving in the wet sorts the men from the boys, Senna was a master so is Schumacher and so is Lewis...... his Silverstone race was epic, very reminiscent of Senna's Donnington
Best Memory
20+ years later that race still sticks in my mind, for the breath taking skill and speed on the screen and also for moment of shared passion and interest between three generations of my family for what was happening in the race.
Book
I've finished the book, but I only have one copy. However, I'd like to send you both something as a thank you for responding to the blog. Could you please contact me at the office - email address or tel number in the back of the mag. Regards, Matt