The Man Who Raced With Winds And Light- Ayrton Senna
A man, who moved with the speed of light, who roared like a wave of thunder and had a determination, which was second to none, Ayrton Senna Da Silva, would always be remembered as one of the greatest racing drivers to have graced planet Earth. A sportsman, who defied human limitations, looked in the eyes of danger to make it shy away, raced not with other drivers but against time and speed, and lived with a dream to beat them all. He did all this, only to quench his thirst of standing a step ahead of others, like a devil, a wizard, like a prediction.
Ayrton Senna da Silva was born to a rich family in Brazil on March 21, 1960. His childhood memories were littered with watching Formula 1 racing on television. At a very young age, Ayrton’s imagination of velocity, swiftness and the haste to slice the winds and move ahead of all had developed. He nurtured his early fantasies through kart racing at the age of thirteen and was quick to make his mark as a winner.
His need for speed took him to British Formula 3 championship very soon and in 1983 he launched his professional racing career. One year later, he made his Formula One debut with Toleman. However, he had to move on as he just could not move slowly. Ayrton joined the Lotus-Renault team as a driver in the following year, and won six Grand Prix titles over the next three seasons.
During his career, he worked under a variety of teams, which include Toleman, Lotus, McLaren and Williams. In total, the Brazilian born driver took part in 162 races. The superstar won a total of three championships in his career, of which the first was the 1988 Formula 1 season.
The 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing in 1990 brought him his second Championship, which was followed by another one in the following year. In the year 1991, he won his third Drivers' World Championship, helping his McLaren team become the Constructors' Champions. He won a total of 41 Grand Prix races out of a162 Grand Prix entries.
The man was never afraid of death but he always preferred to be destroyed rather defeated, "I want to live fully, very intensely. I would never want to live partially, suffering from illness or injury. If I ever happen to have an accident that eventually costs my life, I hope it happens in one instant."
His prediction came true on May 1, 1994 when he was killed in a car crash in the San Marino Grand Prix, where his race-leading Williams strangely speared off the Imola track and he hit the concrete wall at the Tamburello corner. The moment was captured on live television, as the world mourned at the passing of the world’s greatest driver finishing the race of his life. His funeral was graced by the presence of many members of the shocked Formula One community, in Sao Paulo. He left behind a trail of tears and a legacy of an invincible driver. Some said that, “he was actually a greater man out of the car than in it."
In a poll conducted in 2009 by the British magazine Autosport, Ayrton won the title of the Greatest Formula One driver in racing history. From 1989 till 2006, the driver held the record for receiving the highest pole positions in car racing’s history. He was among the most skilful drivers when it came to rain-affected circumstances. He proved his metal after winning the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1985 and the European Grand Prix in the year 1993. He also holds a record for winning the highest number of Monaco Grand Prix’s and is the third most successful driver of all time.
Surely, he gazed at racing as a synonym for life and he used driving as a means of self-sighting. He intermingled life and racing with philosophical perfection. He believed that at the same moment when you become the fastest, you are extremely fragile, because in a fraction of a second, it can vanish, all of it. These two extremes contribute to realising yourself, deeper and deeper.
May his sole finally rest in peace!
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