MotoGP, Vale, Marc, Dani, Cal about Ayrton Senna

Thursday, 01 May 2014 18:52 by Paolo Scalera

GP One - gpone.com

Valentino Rossi is the only one, among the MotoGP riders, able to really remember Ayrton Senna who died on May 1st, twenty years ago, at Imola. And it's not just a matter of age. At that time, in fact, Valentino despite having already decided to tackle the career of motorcycling rider, was also a great fan of F1.

"I remember Ayrton very well even if I was more a fan of Nigel Mansell" he said. "But, of course, I thought that Senna was an inspiring sportsman because he was so strong. I have many great memories of him: for example Donington, in the rain, when he won the GP of Europe one minute and 23 seconds ahead Damon Hill, with Prost third one lap behind".

It was 1993. And Rossi remembers a lot more than that race. He’s able to recall the successes of the Brazilian driver at Montecarlo and many other details of his career.

Unfortunately, his colleagues are too young to share the same feelings.

For Cal Crutchlow Senna is an icon of motorsport but he can’t really remember his races. Same thing for Marc Marquez who honestly admits: "I was barely an infant when he died. It’s sad to know that today is the anniversary of his death, but I do not feel to say something because I have not known him".

"I know that he has been one of the most pure talents of motorsport" - Dani Pedrosa says - "and also that he was one of the firsts to care about the drivers’ safety, for which he deserves the utmost respect".

"To get an idea about him I watched old videos, I red books" - Jorge Lorenzo admits - "and watching his races I got the idea that he had something more than his rivals and that he was a very serious guy, in all aspects of his profession".

Ayrton Senna this unknown. And to think that 'Magic' was a motorcycling enthusiast and a motorcyclist himself.

Photos of the time often show him riding a motorcycle, most of the time a red Ducati, or intent to take care of it. We’ve never seen him racing it we can be very certain of one thing: with his talent and sensitivity he would have been very strong on a 500 two-stroke.

Translated by Federica De Zottis

FONTE PESQUISADA

SCALERA, Paolo. MotoGP, Vale, Marc, Dani, Cal about Ayrton Senna. Disponível em: <http://www.gpone.com/en/2014050113425/Vale-Marc-Dani-Cal-about-Ayrton-Senna.html>. Acesso em: 24 de agosto 2014.