Ayrton Senna: The master of the turbo era

In his hometown of São Paulo, legend hasit that little Senninha once knelt down ata wishing well and shut his eyes tight, clenched his hands together, tilted his head towards the sky and uttered the words, "I wish to live fast, drive fast and die fast."

Someone up there was listening, as we all know what happened on that fateful afternoon on the second lap of the restarted 1994 Imola Grand Prix. Mercifully, Ayrton Senna da Silva left us quickly and painlessly, just like he wished, starting the race from pole and leading, as usual.

His talent was uncanny, most notably evident in an uncompetitive Toleman during a soaked Monaco GP, where his blistering charge meant second place only to ‘The Professor'. That was just the beginning of a souring Franco-Brazilian relationship, as Alain Prost and Senna battled their way to four and three championships each, respectively. Two of the titles were ruthlessly decided at the last race of the season, Japan, with each of the masters coming out tops once. The Brazilian wonder even admitted before the race that he would definitely close the door on the pesky Frenchman should he try his luck.

Senna undoubtedly lived for racing; he had no children, instead devoting his love to his sister's children, and he could never make a marriage work either. Let's suppose that his fragile heart was only big enough for the love of racing: the highly religious Senna spoke of the sport as if speaking of supernatural occurrences.

This is what he thought ofone of his classic Monaco runs:"It was like I was in a tunnel. Notonly the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more.

"I was way over the limit but still able to find even more. And suddenly I realised that I wasno longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was ina different dimension."

But speaking from his beloved ranch in Brazil, Senna delivered one of the world's favourite racing quotes: "On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high."

We miss you, Ayrton.

FACTS

• Born: March 21, 1960
• Died: May 1, 1994
• Grands Prix: 162
• Wins: 41
• Poles: 65
• Fastest laps: 19
• Championships: Three — the same as Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and compatriot Nelson Piquet
• Teams: Toleman 1984-1985, Lotus 1986-1987, McLaren 1988-1993, Williams 1994
• Longest partner: Gerhard Berger