One Lap of the Web: Remembering Ayrton Senna

-- Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the passing of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, but one Jalopnik reader remembers the bloody weekend in San Marino vividly. A dream vacation in Europe cumulating in the ill-fated Grand Prix: Alan Dahl saw Senna's wrecked car coming into the pits, but like the rest of the crowd, he wouldn't find out Senna's fate until he left the track. "For years afterwards I felt guilty that, not knowing that the tragedy had happened," he said, "that I had fun at the race."

-- The excellent 8W, a site of racing driver stories, recounts the last 96 hours of Senna's life. The weekend was supposed to be a quick trip; Senna wanted to return to his Quinta do Lago villa in Portugal as soon as he could, "the only place in the world outside Brazil that he felt at home." It was going to be a good weekend, leading into a good summer. Despite us knowing what happened next, an interesting detail: "At the hospital it was revealed that nurses had discovered a small furled Austrian flag hidden in the sleeve of Senna's race overalls. Journalists concluded he had intended to fly it from his cockpit on the parade lap, and dedicate what would have been his 42nd Grand Prix victory to the memory of Roland Ratzenberger."

-- Azul Airlines in Brazil has dedicated one of its planes to Senna. The Embraer jet (made in Brazil, with pride!) wears a striped pattern similar to Senna's helmet. "Good night, eternal champion!" reads the Facebook post.

-- Lastly, a reminder of Senna's driving prowess: at a rainy Monaco in 1984, 10 years before that fateful race at Imola, Senna chases down future teammate and rival Alain Prost through the wet circuit. The rookie Senna started the race in 13th but quickly passed established drivers Mansell, Rosberg, Lauda, and Bellof in order to gain on leader Prost. Every lap, he gains 3-5 seconds. And juuuuust before Senna passes Prost, officials call the race -- just as Prost intended. The entire video plays out to the dulcet tones of James Hunt's commentary, smashing together generations of F1 legends.

Image via Cold Track Days.

By Blake Z. Rong