Remembering Imola 1994

[Koen Verlinde]

I don't have such an idolized view on Senna as a person because of his too often questionable behaviour and I'll never forget that he admitted of pushing Prost out at Suzuka 1990 for whatever reason he might have had for that to do, it was still at the very least an unnecessarily dangerous act.

That being said, both Ratzenberger and Senna died while chasing the limit, doing what they did best. RIP both of you, and all the others we lost prematurely. Chasing a limit and constantly pushing it further is dangerous. He said it himself, if you embrace that fact, you go faster. And that's what he did, that's his legacy for me.

 

[SenLu]

I wasn't that much a Senna's fan... in fact I found him just a playboy with a big ego that eventually done good deeds... so, he was ok to me, but I was not a fan and the day he died I was much more troubled about Ratzenberger, that was completely forgotten.

But the day I got devastated was 05/05/1994, when his funeral procession crossed São Paulo city (where I lived most of my life) from north to south. Some colleagues and I (all around 15 old) skipped class to see the procession pass under the Vila Guilherme Bridge (at the first leg of the procession).

My little party wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but we ain't sad, just curious. But the closer we got to the crowd over the bridge (there are far more people than accounted by the press, that must have counted just people on the service) the more the things gone dark. There was even some beggars, that probably never saw Senna, crying. I never saw anything that sad in my live. Was like a big and rough horror movie like miasma choking everyone there. We found a spot right over the place were the procession would pass (we arrived much earlier) and waited. When people near me saw the fireman truck some kilometres on the horizon it was like being beaten on the stomach harder than 30 years of Kyokushin could ever delivered me. And as long as the truck got closer I almost panicked be the sadness of the people... they were all broken. São Paulo city was not new about tragedies... we got civil wars, massacres, dystopian like crime, pandemics, mass murderers, suicide cults and every thing on the package... never in my life I saw São Paulo silenced by sadness, specially on a working Thursday. I didn't wanted to be there, but couldn't move away.

To me, the man or the driver are lesser things... I don't admire too much the driver and don't care for the man... but the myth he became is another story. I still fill my spine going beyond 0ºC every time I see images from that day... fell the cramps when the people from Honda unleashed his ghost over Suzuka. To me, this is Imola 94:

Now, picture around 50km of it all.

I was 17 at that time and I was a big fan of Ayrton. I watched this live on Dutch television (believe it was on Eurosport). It made such an impresssion. Thanks for sharing.

 

[AyrtonForever]

i

What is the current official version? As far as I know, his steering column broke mid corner and car went straight into a wall. And Williams covered it up.

i remember they made modification to steering column by a specific Ayrton request to drive with a wheel with greater diameter, which was usual for him in order to have greater precision in cornering. to do this in a short time williams had to thin the column, and because of this it broken under pressure. they had to thin and maybe curve it because the FW16's cockpit in the wheel zone was very narrow very sad day for me and all the motorpost world. the greatest of all times by superhuman driving skills, determination and umanity IMHO

 

[23grp]

RIP Roland and Ayrton!

 

[Amanda]

F1 died to me when I found that he died. My family used to gather everyone to see him race, and they kept the tradition quite a few years after his death, but I thought he was still alive. It was one of the most magical things I've ever experienced. Then they told me he died a few years ago, and my world was never the same.

Nunca vou te esquecer, Ayrton!

 

[Robert_S]

I remember very well , there was some bad energy going on through all the weekend , even though i was watching only on TV I could feel it

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

I don't have such an idolized view on Senna as a person because of his too often questionable behaviour and I'll never forget that he admitted of pushing Prost out at Suzuka 1990 for whatever reason he might have had for that to do, it was still at the very least an unnecessarily dangerous act.

That being said, both Ratzenberger and Senna died while chasing the limit, doing what they did best. RIP both of you, and all the others we lost prematurely. Chasing a limit and constantly pushing it further is dangerous. He said it himself, if you embrace that fact, you go faster. And that's what he did, that's his legacy for me.

So what? Better admire someone that won't admit that, like Prost did to Senna in 89? Or Schumacher did to Hill? All Senna did was a little bit of revenge, nothing more.

Senna is the greatest of them all.

 

[aka2k]

I'll never forget the math homework I was doing the moment Senna crashed. That was the exact moment F1 died.

 

[Koen Verlinde]

So what? Better admire someone that won't admit that, like Prost did to Senna in 89? Or Schumacher did to Hill? All Senna did was a little bit of revenge, nothing more.

Senna is the greatest of them all.

Exactly those kinds of comments don't do justice to the truth, nor the person.

It wasn't about "getting a little bit of revenge", but I know that fanboys of any person they idolize will never be able to understand that. They just are convinced of their truth on a religious scale, cause that's basically the only comparison one can make.

Which is sad, really it is, but I understand that you don't understand that.

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

Exactly those kinds of comments don't do justice to the truth, nor the person.

It wasn't about "getting a little bit of revenge", but I know that fanboys of any person they idolize will never be able to understand that. They just are convinced of their truth on a religious scale, cause that's basically the only comparison one can make.

Which is sad, really it is, but I understand that you don't understand that.

But it was just revenge, he never did something like that before or after. The fact that he admitted doesn't make it worse. Better than those who won't admit to this day, forever hiding it to maintain their image of a good boy.

What else is there to it?

 

[M-Bimmer]

crazy how time flies

 

[Vtecb18a]

R.I.P the GOAT and Roland

 

[Steve Bird]

I just can't believe it's been 26 years. I was out working in Germany in the RAF at the time and my first son was born a month later and I remember thinking on both occasions that the outcome wasn't going to be good. Rest In Peace guys, you will never be forgotten.

 

[PLANCHON]

For all of my generation, Ayrton Senna the Brazilian pilot was already the best pilot in the world during his lifetime. Mind-blowing driving in the rain, a master
in the art of pole position, and a competitor to the endian that nothing could surpass ... And above all exceed!
But in this Formula One world, becoming a myth too often goes through the ultimate drama.
And Imola 94 is a summit of its kind: Accidents with the shovel, Ratzenberger died ...
But the show continues as if nothing could stop this fatal "business" weekend live on French television.

But by the way, have you ever ridden in an authentic Formula 1 of that era. I do. I just sat once in Los Angeles in a splendid Lotus 98 T.
And I had a bad feeling. It was January 1994. A rich American mechanic had bought this very large kart of expo which had also been driven by Ayrton
himself for tests in 1986. It was the first and only time that I got into such a machine. On TV, Formula 1 sounds huge, but in reality, it's
small and damn narrow inside. But that day, I didn't stay behind the wheel for more than a few minutes. I had the very unpleasant feeling of being in
a real rolling coffin. I was traveling to the U.S. with my mom and I was barely 24 ...

I did not understand my negative feeling when I was passionate about racing since my childhood.

Back in France, and like the majority of people at that time, we did not miss a single Formula 1 Grand Prix live on TV.
it was very popular ! And it was there that I painfully understood in May 1994, the cause of my true Californian uneasiness ...

SENNA actually killed himself!

Why dare I say this: Because I idolized this guy. He was already my favorite pilot of all time in the 90s.
But Ayrton was not a healthy person when it came to "WINNING". All shots were allowed, even the most limited and I learned it from my investigation
over several years. As Prost has repeatedly pointed out, while scrupulously respecting the memory of the Brazilian pilot, SENNA still had the mental
of a "Winning" psychoan. Even if apart from the competition, he was a completely different character with a big heart and a real human warmth.

Didn't see anything nasty in my words, but this flaw was actually his main source of motivation. And to be Champion at such a level, you had to
motivation ... But when I speak of extreme behavior limits, this also applies to his stable and his technicians. He was a perfectionist in every way!

And this rupture of the steering column (Official argument of the tragedy) has an aftertaste of big "fail" in the mouth of the chief designer at williams.
We feel that not everything is assumed in this sad story and remember that electronic aids were prohibited in racing at that time.

Ayrton's Williams-Renault was particularly unstable and genuinely noncontrollable to allow it to be 200% competitive. And for our Brazilian pilot,
it was inconceivable at that time not to be able to have the weapons to triumph! For me, it went beyond.

SENNA knew perfectly well that his car had a modified steering, at his request moreover, but did he know that it was potentially dangerous at very high speed
and that "perhaps" his team had taken this dreadful risk, too, the wrath of the "determinism" of a pilot at the height of his glory!
In any case, he sensed from the start of this race that Ratzenberger's death the day before was a harbinger of another drama to come.

Oddly, when he saw him in his Renault williams on TV just before departure, his concentration was a bit off,
I had the same feeling of uneasiness as when I got into this famous Lotus 98 T in California 4 months earlier.

Indeed, it goes or it breaks ... Hmm, Hence the "Straight" of extreme violence in this turn of tamburello on the Imola circuit.
It will be understood that "THE LIMIT" had been exceeded on this Sunday in May 1994. And that a torn off end of The suspension in shock had definitively killed him
for real in action and for eternal posterity also.

I was in front of my TV and I was petrified at the sight of this live crash. A huge lack invaded me like all those present. And since then I haven't watched any races
Formula 1 on TV. At over 50, I put myself in front of my simple thrustmaster 150 and I do a game of simracing on my PC on Assetto Corsa Competizione
among others and that is more than enough for me.

The death of this gifted pilot really marked me forever. And even today, I find it hard to tell this insignificant anecdote for the most part
but which for me, binds me forever with this icon of extreme racing.

Thank you Jeffrey for this forum open on Racedepartment in memory of a very great Brazilian racing driver.
He had the audacity, the passion, the panache, the spirit of the winner and was very popular in all social classes around the world.
In short, it was the true and unique "STAR" of Formula 1 of its generation. And surely one of the greatest pilots of all time !

 

[EduCalza]

So sad today. As Paul said. Gone. But never forgotten.

 

[mdupuis13]

This post brought tears to my eyes.

R.I.P Senna and Ratzenberger

 

[Duke55]

I remember very well , there was some bad energy going on through all the weekend , even though i was watching only on TV I could feel it

Likewise, back in the day in Australia we only got race day footage, and the half hour lead up to the race. And as you mentioned, you could sense something wasn't right. Ayrton appeared unsettled compared to his usual pre race preperation. Maybe it was RR's passing the day before, or something else. But it was clearly visable that something was very different compared to the usual race preparations.

R.I.P. Roland and Ayrton.

 

[hawkalpin]

26 years later and I still ask

That weekend was cursed. Barrichello's crash, Ratzenberger's death, Lamy crash into Letho's car, Senna's death, Comas on track whilst the race was red flagged, The two Ferrari's and Lotus's mechanics striked by a tyre from Alboreto's Minardi...

Ruhe in Frieden Roland.
Descanse em paz, Ayrton. Eterno tri-campeão.

 

[Alex Harkett]

A sad day for motorsport but a time when the drivers were still gladiators. RIP Roland and Ayrton.

There is a nice touch on RaceRoom’s version of Imola if you pull up to the wall where Ayrton crashed there is his picture, a flag and some flowers.

 

[Ruttman98]

I wasn't that much a Senna's fan... in fact I found him just a playboy with a big ego that eventually done good deeds... so, he was ok to me, but I was not a fan and the day he died I was much more troubled about Ratzenberger, that was completely forgotten.

But the day I got devastated was 05/05/1994, when his funeral procession crossed São Paulo city (where I lived most of my life) from north to south. Some colleagues and I (all around 15 old) skipped class to see the procession pass under the Vila Guilherme Bridge (at the first leg of the procession).

My little party wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but we ain't sad, just curious. But the closer we got to the crowd over the bridge (there are far more people than accounted by the press, that must have counted just people on the service) the more the things gone dark. There was even some beggars, that probably never saw Senna, crying. I never saw anything that sad in my live. Was like a big and rough horror movie like miasma choking everyone there. We found a spot right over the place were the procession would pass (we arrived much earlier) and waited. When people near me saw the fireman truck some kilometres on the horizon it was like being beaten on the stomach harder than 30 years of Kyokushin could ever delivered me. And as long as the truck got closer I almost panicked be the sadness of the people... they were all broken. São Paulo city was not new about tragedies... we got civil wars, massacres, dystopian like crime, pandemics, mass murderers, suicide cults and every thing on the package... never in my life I saw São Paulo silenced by sadness, specially on a working Thursday. I didn't wanted to be there, but couldn't move away.

To me, the man or the driver are lesser things... I don't admire too much the driver and don't care for the man... but the myth he became is another story. I still fill my spine going beyond 0ºC every time I see images from that day... fell the cramps when the people from Honda unleashed his ghost over Suzuka. To me, this is Imola 94:

Now, picture around 50km of it all.

Your somber reflection of that time is masterfully and eloquently written.

I am getting chills up and down my spine.

Thank you for taking time to share. I was not an F1 fan when Senna died, but now I feel like I experienced a part of the loss.