Today marks the 25th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death and what better way of honoring his memory than remind ourselves of one of his finest moments, courtesy of Carfection’s latest film.
Henry Catchpole takes a McLaren Senna for a proper road review in order to see how the ultra-focused supercar behaves outside a race track. It might wear number plates but everything about it screams racing. Can it cope with a bumpy back road or is it as unforgiving as it looks?
After driving it on some sun-bathed UK B-roads, he heads to Donington Park, where in 1993 Ayrton Senna left the racing world in awe after his performance on the soaking wet track.
The Brazilian pilot was starting the race from fourth place, with Prost having the pole position. The heavy rain dropping that day was a stark contrast from the dry qualifying session and Senna was determined to take advantage of the weather conditions.
Ayrton lost one place during the race start but what followed remains one of the most extraordinary performances ever seen from a driver in any form of motorsport; Senna flying around every car in front of him, taking the lead from Prost in less than a lap. From fifth to first.
It’s a moment of true greatness, portraying perfectly Ayrton’s god-like talent in the rain, which made almost any other driver look slow and amateur. And for many, this is why Ayrton still is the best F1 pilot in the history of the sport.