Senna, Ayrton

Ayrton Senna (full name Ayrton Senna Da Silva) of Brazil was, without question, the greatest race car driver in history. He was the embodiment of the professional race car driver. From his first appearance in a Grand Prix event in 1984, the racing world was on notice. The man was on a single-minded mission to win a World Championship title. No driver ever pursued this goal with such determination. Senna won his first title in 1988 and then again, two more times, in 1990 and 1992. He sat on the pole for more than 55% of all races he entered. Ayrton Senna was killed during the opening laps of the 1994 Grand Prix of San Marino at the Circuit Dino Ferrari near the town of Imola in Italy. His death was mourned the world over. Both Brazil and Japan took national holidays to mourn his passing. At the time of his death, Ayrton Senna was so significant to Brazil as a hero and source of income, he was responsible for nearly 20% of that country's gross national product. His body lay in state in the National Assembly before being buried with full state rights. At the time of this writing, rather pointless charges of manslaughter have been brought against the team Senna drove for at the time of his death. Frank Williams (the team owner), Adrian Newey (team Chief Designer) and Patrick Head (team Technical Manager) all face charges.