Miata Mailing List: May 1994, Message #3
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   From: "CRAIG BLAKELY" 
Subject: (Fwd) Formula 1/Senna - Sad day for racing fans  :-(
   Date: Sun, 1 May 1994 20:55:24 -0400

I am forwarding this from a colleague at the Texas A&M Sports Car 
Club (who incidently won the overall title in my '90 red A package).  
Many of you perhaps picked it up from other nets, but seems worth 
sending along...

with regrets:


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From:          "Thorwald -T.H.- Herbert" 

Don't go on reading if you haven't watched the F1 race at Imola yet 
and you
don't wanna know anything about the race, but this is too important to 
pass
up if you are a racing fan, especially one who follows Formula 1.

A sobering day for us race fans indeed:

Ayrton Senna da Silva, Brazilian Formula 1 driver for the 
Williams/Renault
team and three time world champion was tragically killed today in an 
accident
at Imola race track in lap 7 of the GP of San Marino.  This following a 
fatal
crash yesterday in qualifying when Roland Ratzenberger, 
Simtek/Ford driver
and F1 rookie, suffered a mechanical failure on his car (apparently he 
lost a
front wing) and went straight off the track in the Villeneuve corner at 
close
to 190 MpH and hit a concrete wall.  Ratzenberger was airlifted to 
Bologna
hospital where he was pronounced dead a short while later.  He died 
due to
severe head trauma and spinal injuries.  In a virtual replay of 
yesterdays
incident, Senna's car appeared to suffer some sort of mechanical 
failure in
the middle of the Tamburello corner at somwhere near 170-180 MpH 
causing him
to go straight off and hitting a concrete wall as well.  He didn't appear
to have been able to slow the car down at all after it broke and hit the 
wall
at full spedd at around a 45 degree angle.  He was unconscious 
immediately
after and apparently had to be revived once when his heart had 
stopped
even before being airlifted to the hospital.  Once at the hospital he 
was
said to have been in a coma but was soon declared "clinically dead" - 
only
able to survive due to artificial life support.  At 5:00 pm GMT he was
pronounced dead...

Various other incidents further marred the event.  Rubens Barrichello 
was
injured Friday during practice when he flew off the chicane at over 
130MpH
and went airborne into a tire barrier/catch fence.  He is said to be in 
good
condition though.  At the start of todays race, J.J. Lehto stalled and
stopped on the grid and Pedro Lamy, unaware of the problem, ran into 
Lehto
from behind at full speed/acceleration.  Both drivers were okay but 
two
wheels and various other debris flew into the grand stands injuring 8
spectators and 1 policeman.  None of the injuries were serious.  
Finally,
late in the race Alboreto lost a rear wheel exiting the pits and the 
wheel
struck one Lotus and two Ferrari pit crew members, all of which had to 
be
taken to the hospital but luckily received only minor injuries.

This marks the first fatal accident in F1 racing since 1982.  It was a
horrific day though, a blood bath of sorts, literally characterized by 
the
huge puddle of blood left trackside where Ayrton Senna was attended 
to.

Along with everyone else, my heart goes out to the friends and 
families of
those who were killed or injured today.  I only hope I never have to 
witness
a racing disaster of this magnitude ever again.

Condolences for Senna and Ratzenberger may be sent to (thanks 
Toby!):

        Williams Grand Prix Engineering
        Basil Hill Road
        Didcot, Berks OX11 7HW
        England

        Simtek Grand Prix
        8 Wates Way, Acre Estate
        Wildmere Road
        Banbury, Oxon OX16 7TS

"Once you sit on a race car you know you are taking risks.  We never
 think we are going to have an accident or get hurt but it is always
 at the back of the mind.  It is that knowledge which determines
 the limit you establish for yourself.  It is very important
 because it helps you to stay together and not go beyond your
 limit.  You can be guided by self-preservation without loosing
 your commitment" A. Senna

For those who are interested I have included a bio of Ayrton Senna 
courtesy
of Brandon Smith (bsmith@labsun1.med.uottawa.ca) below.

Rest in Peace, Ayrton and Roland...

T.H.  :-(

Ayrton Senna
Brazilian
Age 34, Born March 21 1960 : Died May 1 1994
Lived in Monte Carlo & Sao Paulo.

S. Am Karting champion 77-78
Runner up World karting championship 79-80
RAC & Townsend  Thorensen Formula Ford F1600 titles 1981
British & Eur. FF2000 champion 1982
British F3 champion 1983
F1 debut : Toleman 1984
Lotus 1985:
won Estoril & Spa
4th in league with 38 points
Lotus 1986:
Wins @ Jerez, Detroit 1986
4th in league with 55 points
Lotus 1987:
Wins @ Monaco & Detroit
3rd in title chase with 57 points
McLaren 1988:
Wins @ Imola, Montreal, Detroit, Silverstone, Hockenheim, 
Hungaroring,
Spa, & Suzuka
World Champion with 94 points
Mclaren 1989:
Wins @ Imola Monaco Mexico Hockenheim Spa Jerez
McLaren 1990:
Wins @ Phoenix Monaco Montreal Hockenheim Spa Monza
World Champion 78 points
Mclaren 1991:
Wins @ Phoenix Interlagos Imola Monaco Hungaroring Spa Adelaide
World Champion with 96 points
McLaren 1992:
Wins @ Monaco Hungaroring Monza
4th with 50 points
McLaren 1993:
Wins @ Interlagos Donnington Monaco Suzuka Adelaide
2nd with 73 points
Williams 1994:
Failed to finish in 3 gp starts
Died of head injuries at Imola following an accident while leading the 
race


World Champ: 88 90 91
Runner up :  89 93
GP wins 41 Scored 614 points in 161 GP's

********************************
Craig Blakely, Assoc. Director
Public Policy Research Institute
H.C. Dulie Bell Bldg. / Suite 314
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-4476
(409) 845-8800
CRAIG@PPRI.TAMU.EDU