Sometimes supercars come with gimmicky, flashy features that don’t really serve a purpose beyond making a car seem worthy of a six (or more) figure price tag. McLaren’s new pop-out driver display seems a little gimmicky, but definitely cool. But we can do better.
See that ‘Roadkill Hedgehog’ sticker on Senna’s 1993 McLaren MP4/8? It was his message to Williams and their very fast Frenchman Alain Prost.
According to Wikipedia only two funerals, in recorded history, have had greater attendance by free will than Ayrton Senna’s. They were the funerals of Pope John Paul II, who was recently beatified as a saint, and the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Let that settle in for a minute.
It was Ayrton Senna's fifth Grand Prix race. Monaco was soaked, and he was in a lousy Toleman-Hart. To make matters worse, a fuel spill had soaked through his suit—intensely painful. He'd had brake problems as well. But as the rain got harder, Senna got faster. And faster. The lead was in his grasp; he was reeling in…
"If I ever happen to have an accident that eventually costs me my life, I hope it is in one go. I would not like to be in a wheelchair. I would not like to be in a hospital suffering from whatever injury it was. If I'm going to live, I want to live fully, very intensely, because I am an intense person. It would ruin…
“I know nothing about rallying. I’ve seen the pictures in magazines, sometimes watched it on television. And I deliberately haven’t listened to anyone about rally driving. I want to find out for myself.” - Ayrton Senna
This is awesome. Since Ayrton Senna came up the ranks well ahead of the digital age, there isn't much online video of him racing during his formative years. But the Internet is full of surprises. The video above captures Senna racing Formula Ford 2000 at Ireland's Mondello Park in 1982.
Last week, we were lucky to have Senna director Asif Kapadia join a panel discussion with pro drivers Robb Holland and Greg Tracy at the Jalopnik Film Festival about the triumph and tragedy of motorsport. If you missed the film festival, have no fear, the panel is here.
If you weren't able to get a pass to the Jalopnik Film Festival happening this Thursday at the BAM Cinema in Brooklyn, New York there's still one more way to maybe catch one of the films.
When I decided we should do the Jalopnik Film Festival I knew if we could get RUSH we'd have to get SENNA and Grand Prix. And if we could get all that to happen, I prayed we could get SENNA director Asif Kapadia to come. Sometimes dreams do come true.
Do you want to see Ron Howard's new F1 epic RUSH before anyone else? What about the rally documentary Easier Said Than Done? Do you want to play Gran Turismo 6 early? Then I'm excited to announce you'll be able to do all that and more at the first ever Jalopnik Film Festival, presented by Gran Turismo 6.
Though today we talk about selling Ayrton Senna's cars, back in the day Senna wasn't above selling a little motor oil. Especially if it was in Japan, and especially if it was completely, utterly, out there.
Just a reminder, the fantastic documentary Senna will be airing on NBC Sports Network tonight at 8PM EST.
It might be hard to follow the dialogue on this 1993 episode of some Japanese TV show with Ayrton Senna, but you immediately get how humble Senna is, how cool he stays, and how goofy he's willing to get.
The Toleman TG184-2 that Ayrton Senna piloted in his debut season of Formula One racing will cross the block at a British Auction in May.
Alain Prost, France's four-time Formula One world champion refuses to watch the Oscar-snubbed documentary Senna. Saying he thinks the writer and director got the story wrong.
Asif Kapadia's phenomenal Senna was overlooked by a confused and self-obsessed Hollywood, but the Brits did the right thing by nominating and awarding the film with a "Best Documentary" award in the BAFTA — their clearly superior version of the Oscars. The film also won for best editing.
Former HRT driver Bruno Senna is going to race for Williams F1 in 2012. I kept "Bruno" off the headline for this F1 update because it's a little jarring if you have the proper context and know the history. Senna's uncle, the great Ayrton Senna, died 18 years ago in his third race for Williams.
If you haven't seen the Ayrton Senna F1 documentary Senna you must be sick of hearing other car guys constantly talk about how great it is. Now here's your chance to see it for free, on your computer, right now.
I have this ritual where I yell "I'm done with the fucking Oscars" followed by "and this time I mean it!" This year's epithet-generating travesty is the exclusion of Asif Kipadia's excellent Senna from the Academy's documentary short-list. Jerks.
