Simviation Forum - 14 years

May 1^st, 2008 at 8:42pm

Craig. Offline
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Have passed since one of the most tragic weekends in F1 history. The 1994 Imola Gp weekend culminating in the death of Ayrton Senna on the 1st of may 1994.

It's amazing how quickly time flies. I can still remember that weekend like it was yesterday.

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Reply #1 - May 1^st, 2008 at 10:06pm

The Ruptured Duck Offline
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amazing how F-1 has changed since then. I only wish I could have seen those days in person.

"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing" -Ben Franklin&&&&"Man must rise above the Earth to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives." - Socrates&&&&" Flying is a religion. A religion that asymilates all who get a taste of it." - Me&&&&"Make the most out of yourself, for that is all there is of you"- Ralf Waldo Emerson&&

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Reply #2 - May 2^nd, 2008 at 3:28am

todayshorse Offline
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Blimey. I dug out my copy of autosport from that week. Chilling stuff.

I injured my wrist at work that weekend and was looking forward to actualy sitting down and watching the race rather than trying to snatch bits of it during work.

What a bizarre weekend it was Sad

I consider myself lucky to have seen Senna race at Spa in 1990, and saw him on the podium. Admittedly from a distance Cheesy

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Reply #3 - May 2^nd, 2008 at 4:29am

CD. Ex Member

Craig. wrote on May 1^st, 2008 at 8:42pm:

I can still remember that weekend like it was yesterday.

Me too, it's something I'll never forget.

Rubens Barrichello was extremely lucky to be alive after that race meeting as well, he had a terrible accident which threw him into the fence IIRC.

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Reply #4 - May 2^nd, 2008 at 9:25am

expat Offline
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We all remember Senna, but forget

Roland Ratzenberger

who died in qualifying the day before. FIA President Max Mosley attended the funeral of Ratzenberger, despite the overwhelming attention on Senna's funeral. In a press conference ten years later Mosley said, "'Roland had been forgotten. So I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his".

The following day (1 May), during the customary drivers' briefing, the remaining drivers agreed to the reformation of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, with Senna, Gerhard Berger and Michael Schumacher as its first directors. The Association subsequently pressed for improvements to car and circuit safety in the wake of Imola and other serious crashes during the 1994 season; It took a further six years Roll Eyes

before the FIA mandated in 2001 the use of the HANS device, designed prevent the type of injury suffered by Ratzenburger

Matt

PETA People Eating Tasty Animals.

B1 Boeing 737-800 and Dash8 Q-400

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Reply #5 - May 2^nd, 2008 at 9:28am

C Offline
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expat wrote on May 2^nd, 2008 at 9:25am:

We all remember Senna, but forget

Roland Ratzenberger

who died in qualifying the day before.

Well said - one of the most talented drivers of his generation, who probably would have had limited opportunities in F1 (due to his age), but certainly would have gone on to further success in touring cars and endurance racing. I still remember exactly where I was when both deaths were announced.

As for Senna, my favourite memory is "our Nige" stopping to pick him up in front of our stand at Silverstone in 1991.

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Reply #6 - May 2^nd, 2008 at 10:00am

CD. Ex Member

With all respect Matt, I doubt anyone has forgotten Roland.

C wrote on May 2^nd, 2008 at 9:28am:

As for Senna, my favourite memory is "our Nige" stopping to pick him up in front of our stand at Silverstone in 1991.

Great memory, you have to laugh at the way he was kicking the marshall who tried to stop him..

Mine has to be his first lap in the wet at Donington 1993... 5th at the first corner, nailed Prost for 1st at the Melbourne hairpin. Awesome.

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Reply #7 - May 2^nd, 2008 at 4:33pm

Craig. Offline
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No ones forgotten about Roland. I just think there are several reasons for his death being overshadowed. 1: It wasn't shown on tv IIRC. It was only covered in most countries as a news piece.
2: as morbid as it sounds, there is only a small portion of video of the crash. It's impossible to tell how the crash started or why the crash would have killed him. What the video shows looks like a standard crash which many drivers had survived before. It doesn't show the highspeed accident before hand. I think a lot of people find it easier to accept and remember Senna's death because it was covered from every angle repeated a 100 times on live T.V. and some countries even rather disturbingly showed the paramedics working on him while he was lying in a pool of his own blood.

This is why I said tragic weekend. Rubens had perhaps the worst accident of the lot and came away from it alive if somewhat beaten up. Just one of those tragic Irony's I guess.

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Reply #8 - May 3^rd, 2008 at 3:04am

expat Offline
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Craig. wrote on May 2^nd, 2008 at 4:33pm:

No ones forgotten about Roland. I just think there are several reasons for his death being overshadowed. 1: It wasn't shown on tv IIRC. It was only covered in most countries as a news piece.
2: as morbid as it sounds, there is only a small portion of video of the crash. It's impossible to tell how the crash started or why the crash would have killed him. What the video shows looks like a standard crash which many drivers had survived before. It doesn't show the highspeed accident before hand. I think a lot of people find it easier to accept and remember Senna's death because it was covered from every angle repeated a 100 times on live T.V. and some countries even rather disturbingly showed the paramedics working on him while he was lying in a pool of his own blood.

How very true. If we look at the coverage of the Manchester United plane crash, it was a couple of radio reports and then read it in the papers for the next couple of days. No glorious technicolour in those days to keep the story alive.

Matt

PETA People Eating Tasty Animals.

B1 Boeing 737-800 and Dash8 Q-400

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