A Star Named Ayrton Senna Page #4

That was part of the fight we had.

Everything was tough.

On or off the track, setting up the car,

everything. It was really at the limit.

We also knew that if we were quick

and fast and had a winning car...

it was also because of us,

because of the drivers.

We were dominating Formula One.

It's not pretentious to say that.

I think Ayrton and Alain needed

each other very much.

In order for them...

to develop their own capablities

to the fullest.

Their rivalry helped them to reach

that level of excellence.

Ayrton wouldn't be who he was

without Alain Prost and vice versa.

And Alain Prost wouldn't have been

that good without Ayrton.

One time they asked Ayrton

if he had any enemies.

And he gave

one of the most beautiful answers...

he had ever given

in any of his countless interviews.

He said that life was too short

to have enemies.

And life can be shorter still, like in

his case. That statement is so true.

Like when they said that he and Alain

were enemies, which wasn't true.

So for situations like that,

his statement was just perfect.

When you're under a lot of pressure

in a particular championship or race...

it's the one that can put together...

the combination of aggression

and calculation...

that will get the best result.

More than anything you need

a very clear mind...

to understand when to be aggressive

and when to be calculating.

To win a championship, you need

the combination of those elements...

in the right dose at given moments.

Ayrton Senna's lifestyle

was that of the rich and famous.

Beautiful houses, lots of toys

and opportunities to relax.

His love for Brazil and its people was

reflected in how they felt about him.

He was idolized by the ordinary people

in the street and he still is today.

Great, extraordinary.

Pity he left us at such a young age.

-It's Ayrton. It really is.

Look, it's really him.

For us he was the best in world.

We miss him and it's a huge loss

for sports in Brazil.

He brought us joy on Sundays.

We'd get so excited during his races.

He was a great driver.

He gave us lots of enjoyment.

There'll never be

another driver like him.

He's so handsome.

He represented everything to us.

He brought us glory, he had everything.

It's an honor for any Brazilian

to have a picture in memory of him.

I think he was one of the best

Brazilians in the world...

and everyone should honor him

because he's the best. Even now.

He gave us some of the best weekends

here in Brazil.

To me he's a great athlete, a great

human being and an example to us all.

I get all choked up when I see him.

He represents a lot to me.

I miss him very much.

Despite the access Ayrton had

to his own slice of paradise...

he always knew that many Brazilians

battled not for championships...

but simply to put food on the table

and a roof overhead.

And it mattered to him

more than many people knew.

In the second year

I stayed with him in Brazil.

We drove through the favelas,

the slums.

And you see the poverty there...

while you work with someone

who has his own plane and what not.

I asked him:
Doesn't it bother you

when you see things like this?

And I noticed that it was an awkward

moment in the conversation.

He said:
It definitely bothers me. The

corruption, the problems, the people.

It angers and saddens me when I see

how much these people suffer.

But I'm not strong and powerful enough

yet to change anything.

It showed what direction

this man wanted to go in.

The races, the speed

and going to the limit...

were only a bridge, a vehicle,

a vessel...

to get him where he wanted to go.

It was a process he was going through.

The best remembrance I had...

was when I stayed with him

that weekend in his farmhouse.

We had a storm and the lights

and the telephone went out of order.

I needed to phone my wife,

who was in Scotland.

So we went out

and we found a telephone box.

I phoned my wife and he went outside.

It was dark.

He was standing under a street lamp

and some kids recognized him.

By then he had 20 or 30 children

around him.

He was chatting to them

and signing autographs.

When I came out of the telephone box...

That's one of the sweetest memories

I have of him.

Standing there with the light

playing on his head and shoulders...

surrounded by the kids

and being so nice to them.

Two months before the accident...

Ayrton told me he wanted to do

something for kids and young people.

He asked me to think about it

and we'd talk again later.

We never had that second talk.

Two months later he had that accident.

My family and I decided to go ahead

with the idea.

To plant the seed he left behind

and create the Ayrton Senna Institute.

He was given the opportunity

and he wanted to share that.

Most Brazilian children

don't get this opportunity.

The opportunity of an education,

and better health care...

the opportunity for a better future

and of hope.

What made Ayrton stand out

amongst Grand Prix drivers...

was that he knew there was

something else outside Formula 1.

And I think he made that

his mission in Formula 1...

to build a platform so that he could

express how he felt about humanity...

and things to do with people.

Maybe his approach within Formula 1

was ruthless sometimes...

maybe not humanitarian even.

But there's no question that

he felt a deep empathy with mankind...

and with the problems in the world.

We are made of emotions.

We're all looking for emotions basically.

It's only a question of finding the way

to experience them.

There are many different ways

to experience them.

Perhaps one thing, one particular thing

that Formula 1 can provide you...

is that you know

you're always exposed to danger.

Danger of getting hurt,

danger of dying.

Travel was a major factor

in Senna's life.

To ease the strain,

he acquired his own aircraft...

and employed the services of a pilot.

Over a period of 4.5 years...

Owen O'Mahony got to know

his employer extremely well.

We often went back and forth

to Brazil.

We'd leave So Paulo

at 10:
30 at night...

and Ayrton would lay out the bed in

the back, go to sleep in his pajamas...

and at 7:
00 in the morning, I'd go back

in the cabin to wake Ayrton up.

We'd land in England

at about eight in the morning...

and he'd be as fresh as a daisy

and we were totally shattered.

My compliment to him...

is to say that he was big enough to be

little, if you understand what I mean.

In April 1994, Owen flew Senna to

Imola for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Ayrton always considered

the circuit at Imola as his home ground.

Starting in '84, Senna captured the pole

position eight times in ten years.

First with Lotus...

then during the incredible series

with McLaren...

and finally with Williams.

In his last race here he captured

the pole position hands down.

He never stayed in Imola...

but in Castel San Pietro.

He always

stayed in the same hotel there.

It had a helipad. He liked to fly

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