Still, Thinking of Senna...

earfood - set the fire to the third bar, snow patrol.

     
   "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" - Ayrton Senna.

the math is pretty simple - Ayrton Senna did not have to die.


1994. in the town of Imola. on the infamous track Autodromo Enzo e Dino. Tamburello corner. lap 7. Ayrton Senna did not have to die. he could have just walked away.


friday, two days before the race. Senna's friend, fellow countryman and protege Rubens Barrichello was injured when he was launched over a kerb, and into the top of the tyre barrier, flipping the car and knocking him unconscious. the next day, fellow driver Roland Ratzenberger crashed head-on into a wall during qualifying round and was killed instantaneously. 


Senna was very upset about the safety conditions of the track. he spent sunday, the race morning, assembling the other drivers to form a new driver's safety group; in which he was elected as the leader of the group.


word has it that he was so ambivalent about the race that he seriously thought of quitting as a formula one driver on that morning. he even called his girlfriend at interlagos to tell her about his concerns. he almost quit. he almost walked away.


of course, he couldn't. the crowd needed him. they simple do. in an afterthought, the whole world needed him.


and so he raced. a race where he finished no more.


lap 7. sunday morning. san marino GP. Tamburello corner. leading the pack after Micheal Schumacher. his car understeered so much that he crashed to the concrete barrier 135 mph, tearing off the right front wheel which in turn catapulted to his helmet in an instant. the car spun to a halt and he remained motionless while the crowd stood up with such bewilderment.    


he was a hero. he is still a hero. a true champion. he died that day because his body had served its purpose. his soul had done what it came to do, learned what it came to learn and then, was free to leave. Senna never raced for money for after all he was born and raised in a wealthy family. he raced because his heart told him to. 


he was admired, cheered, honored, respected. a great man. a great driver, he was. a great driver, he is. a great driver, he will be...

    "He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am totally agnostic, I felt his soul depart at that moment" -Professor Sidney Watkins, head of F1 on-track medical team..