SAO PAULO (AFP) – A master on the Formula One racing track, triple world champion Ayrton Senna was the pride of Brazil. Twenty-five years after his tragic death in the San Marino Grand Prix, he remains one of the country´s biggest sporting legends.
The anniversary of Senna’s death on Wednesday – dubbed ‘’Senna Day’’ – will revive the sense of loss and bewilderment that followed the shocking crash on the Imola circuit in Italy on May 1, 1994, that took the 34-year-old’s life.
It will also serve as a bitter reminder that since Senna’s last title in 1991, there has never been a Brazilian world champion.
“There were some successes after Ayrton Senna … but the lack of an internal structure in Brazilian motorsport did not allow its development,” said Alexander Grunwald, a Brazilian motorsports journalist.
Senna’s death sparked an outpouring of grief around the world.