Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna Holding A Model Of His Mclaren MP4/4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayrton_Senna)

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose." (Ayrton Senna). This quote taken from Senna pre-race conveys Senna rather well. Ayrton Senna was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 21, 1960. Senna is an absolute auto racing legend, his career beginning in karting when he was 13. He progressed through Formula Ford, Formula 3 and at last to Formula 1, where he is really known for. Even though he was born in a poverty stricken country Senna rose to the top. A hero must possess character and willpower to aspire to something. Senna showed his will power through his driving. Ayrton Senna's self belief in himself, his will to sacrifice anything to make the goals he set combined with his ruthless driving habits in the pursuit of victory is what makes him a hero. He is a multiplex human being who is hard to fathom.

Senna Saving Erik Comas Life (Top Gear)

Ayrton Senna's unexampled personality and his will to win make him a hero and role model to many. After returning to Brazil, his career at at stand still, Senna had a chance to return. "This time, Senna flew alone. 'If I was going to make it to Formula One,' he said, 'I had to give it all my time and attention. I couldn't do that if I was married, so we parted.' This sounded chillingly hard-nosed at the time, and, indeed, Senna's frankness never lost its power to disturb. Just as it was always said of Rocky Marciano, the gentlest of men outside a boxing ring, his killer instinct had its roots in sacrifice. So too did exile harden Senna's resolve." (Nigel Roebuck) Senna ended his marriage to go back to Europe to continue his racing career. This shows a lot about his character. Senna was willing to sacrifice anything to achieve the goals he set, from ending his marriage to crashing into another driver to become world champion. He would do just about anything to achieve greatness. He had a thirst for it. Senna was a devout christian, who had this self belief in himself, a God given talent. "Senna's 'self-belief' was so extraordinary that it caught people off balance," Alan Henry wrote in Grand Prix Champions. He was a sensitive man whose aloof nature off the track and aggressive habits behind the wheel often gave people the impression that he was cold and relentless in pursuit of victory. He was a remarkably instinctive driver who drove as if the car was an extension of his own body" (Ayrton Senna. Encyclopedia of World Biography) Senna was deeply religious. God was one of the major factors that inspired him to do so much. God or not Senna drove like he had a gift from God. His self belief to win brought himself closer and closer to the ragged edge, to the limit of his vehicle and physics. Since he was quite religious, Senna still very much cared about people. The paradox of Ayrton Senna is that while he would crash into Alain Prost in the pursuit of victory risking both lives, at the same time he risked his own life running across the track to save Eric Comas's life. (driver who had crashed in front of him) A prime example of this is when Roland Ratzenberger crashed and died the day before he did in 1994. He was in a state of shock. Even considering not racing, or ever again. Ayrton Senna's character is hard to fathom. He was willing to sacrifice anything to become victorious but at the same time care so much about other drivers and people.

Young Senna Pre-Race (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/03/05/ayrton)

The way Ayrton Senna raced displays not only how good he was, but how much effort and time he put into his career. In 1989 and 1990 Ayrton Senna and his main rival Alain Prost were trading blows at each other. Their rivalry is unmatched. "In 1989 and 1990, Senna and Prost traded places at the top of the Formula One world, with Prost winning the championship in 1989 after a controversial crash in Suzuka, Japan, in which officials once again played a role in denying Senna the win; in 1990" (Ayrton Senna Contemporary Hispanic Biography) One of the most pivotal moments between these two was in Suzuka Circuit in 1989. Alain Prost had to fail to finish at Suzuka in order for Senna to become world champions of F1 that year. Senna made sure he wouldn't finish by not breaking at the first corner crashing into him. This win was denied by the officials for obvious reasons. This shows how ruthless Senna was on his quest to win. Ayrton Senna was always pushing himself to do better himself. "His driving skill was almost in another world. His record line of cornering was always on the limit next to get off the track. We have to notice not only his driving skill but also his setting-up skill of the machine. He always argued the setting up of his machine with team engineers, reporting his machine's action accurately to them to request the perfect setting. He got always right." (Ayrton Senna Biography) Senna was in the details. Always talking to the engineers about the cars setup. Relaying perfect information to his team to better his monster of a machine. Yoshitoshi Sakurai, Hondas general manager for Formula 1 put Senna's attention to detail very well. "His brain could simulate his all operations on the track such as RPM of engine, gear position, braking point, steering or so with the error by less than a hundredth second. He could memorize all data for the process and condition of his machine. His memory was perfectly same as the telemetry data!" (Yoshitoshi Sakurai) Ayrton Senna had the mind of a computer. He always knew where the grip was, maintaining tire wear and the telemetry data. The fact that he did this while driving stick in a 1200HP car that you could punch a hole in with your fist is scarcely believable. Watching recorded pole laps of him looks sped up, but it isn't. Its just Senna being Senna, a racing god.

Senna During A Race (http://www.wallconvert.com/search/ayrton+senna/)

Ayrton Senna's character traits and values set the bar of what a human can achieve. Senna was always pushing himself on and off the track. "I continuously go further and further learning about my own limitations, my body limitation, psychological limitations. It's a way of life for me." (Ayrton Senna) Unlike Senna's fellow drivers and the F1 drivers of today Senna was always training himself. It was a way of life for him, from leaving his marriage to risking his own life push the cars limits in the quest to win. Which ultimately took his own life. Senna was no perfectionist. "Even if you try to be perfect, nobody's perfect. So of course I try to learn from every mistake I make, from every wrong decision I make to not allow it to happen again. My first race in the wet in go cart was a disaster. Just a complete joke I couldn't do any good and in the dry I was pretty good. So on that day I learned I knew nothing about running in the wet. So I trained. It takes time, and a lot of effort, and a lot of dedication, and a lot of power." Senna admired work and dedication. The world owes you nothing. You have to make you yourself, carve your own spot in this world. Senna did that, and it led to greatness. Ayrton Senna was ruthless on the track, but at the same time a wondrous human being who we will never completely understand, but admire nonetheless.

Ayrton Senna's Funeral (https://tobyhusseyreporting.wordpress.com/tag/senna/)

Works Cited