This Moment in Time........... (Senna related)

Schumacher going after DC in Spa? No. Schumacher going after JPM in Monaco?

History repeats itself.

 

Excellent tribute to the most amazing driver to get behind a wheel of an F1 car (IMO) !! F1 has never been the same for me .......................

 

I think I'd have taken Ayrton if that scuffle with Schu were to continue. MS looked like a teen about to get manhandled...

 

You're right. I'm still trying to find the full story that led to the photos. Hey B, I grew up in Pasadena and graduated from Blair HS (Folks still live near Euclid and California). Where abouts are you?

 

I live in Northwest Pasadena in the ring above the Rose Bowl. I'm just now trying to navigate the schools in Pasadena...the PUSD S-U-C-Ks now. I think most parents are sending their kids to private school so the public schools have to bus kids in from everywhere else. I'm just certain the other schools are sending us their best and brightest to keep those API scores high. We've got a way to go before high school, but I'm guessing Blair now is not what it was during your years. Area is still nice, but the private schools rule Pasadena.

Regarding Senna, here is what I find ironic: he would have been the perfect Ferrari driver. The guy was emotionally bonded with driving as if it were part of his spirit. Meditating in the car and visualising a race vs fidgeting around with pre-race prep. Schumacher is such a technical guy that he seems more Mercedes than Ferrari. I love what MS has done in his career and he is great in his own right, but to me Ayrton represents the ultimate F1 pilot.

 

Yes and yes. No coincidence MS honed his craft with Merc.

The movie "La Passione" has a nice brief sequence with Senna in the Ferrari.
<sigh>

 

That would be worth seeing. Where can that movie be found?
After all of these years, I think most of us still feel cheated out of one of the greatest racing rivalries in history. There is still the great fortune of watching each at the zenith of their great careers, but one can only imagine the thrills of seeing Schu and Senna go at it for 4-5 more years. The 90's would have been the truly special era of Formula 1.

 

It is a great movie, but not necessarily for that scene. You'd have to search for it on British Amazon or German ebay and have a PAL to NTSC converter.

Yes, that would have been the battle to watch. Or just 1994 till the end.

 

Your are right about the schools. Blair has changed alot since the 80's. As for my boy at 8 months old and I have been told by many now is a good time to get on the list at Pacific Oaks (Great Preschool).

Around 1996 I to thought it was Merc's and West's (German tabacco) dream to get both Schumacher brothers in those seats. And for what the Mclaren chassis became in 98' and 99 I'm sure all involve must feel like they had missed out on something.

As for Senna at Ferrari, I always wondered why he was never in the frame for a drive. I believe that somewhere along the line a bridge was burned. Too bad, that pairing in World Championship form could have changed the sport forever.

 

Senna was offered the same contract prior to MS getting it for 96 from J. Todt and Luca. He told his girlfriend that after his two years at Williams he was going to drive for Ferrari.

 

Supposedly his girlfriend also said that Senna always wanted to drive for Ferrrari. Even if the car handles like a bus, he wanted to retire in a Ferrari.

 

Great post Jon.
After reading it I saw it is an 2 year old post

 

really really nice pics guys. keep 'em coming in. anybody knows the thread where prost gave his side of the story regarding senna? btws, nice avatar andreas..lol

 

I was always under the impression that the current Williams would bring him one more title (1994) and he would head off to the states. Senna's Penske Indycar test in AZ in 1993 and the success Emmo had in CART meant he was a good fit.
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Great Post!!

Acually the reason for his death has been discovered. in the late 80's and obivoulsy early 90's at the end of straights, spark could be seen flying from the rear diffusors, this in a straight line was no problem, but when cornering it was a very different story!
High speed corners like Tamburello need aerodynamic grip, they rely very little on mechanical grip. Most of the aerodynamic grip is created from the car's underbody, ground effect (discovered by the great Colin Chapman at Lotus). The closer to the ground the car was the better, but when sparks fly from the diffusor, it's obviously because it touches the ground and ground effect, for a few tenths of a second resound to 0. This eliminates most of the car's aerodynamic grip (wings acount for a lot, but not nearly as much as ground effect).

On the twelfth lap of race day at Imola, Senna was 10 seconds into the lap, at 112% throttle (black box data) feeding into tamburello, the black box recorded a slight rear slipage, corrected JUST AS QUICK as it appeared...
Twelve seconds into the lap Senna reaching the more acute apex on this long high speed corner, sparks were seen from the back of his car.... just before it no longer lead it's path curved, but now in a straight line...


His girlfriend was in Lisbon at the time... I still remember... and I was only 7 at the time...


Ayrton, obrigado por me fazeres sonhar...

 

yeah i remember watching that on discovery channel. it seems, according to the narrator, and reseacrh shows, if senna hadn;t corrected the car at that point of time, he'd still be with us today...