Ayrtron Senna sure seemed a lot like Dale Earnhardt

just found this Top Gear clip about Senna:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=4oLSYSJO5Ik&feature=endscreen

and couldn't help but notice that he was a lot like Dale Sr in the way he raced and lived his life. he would race hard to hold onto a position that he had, race even harder to take a position that he wanted, spin you out if it served his purposes, and go out of his way to help a fellow competitor in the middle of a race. they were both heavily involved in the technical and day to day aspects of their race teams, and gave a lot of their own time and energy to those that needed it..

i guess i don't really have anything deep and don't want to start an "F1 sucks and NASCAR rules" thread (even tho that's a factually true statement ...), but i just wanted to say that the racing world needs more people in it like Ayrton and Dale Sr and they need to stop watering the drivers and the competition down and just let them race, dammit.

I didnt know much about senna until i watched Senna. Now i am happy i did! So i recommend you do as well.

In reply to Vigo:

I've watched Senna a few times with new groups of friends now and recently it just gets too upsetting to watch. The pressure was just too clear. The BS and ruling against him by the French director just too much. The dread in his face the last few days just too obvious. I guess some people never quit, but that's relative. He didn't quit racing, but he gave up on free will and following a passion. I think he lost the passion right before his death, and what terrible odds for it to bite so fast.

You realise that movie was made to paint him in a good light, right? His sister made SURE Ayrton was the victim in the movie.

racerfink wrote: You realise that movie was made to paint him in a good light, right? His sister made SURE Ayrton was the victim in the movie.

the hell you say.. that never happens..

what did people say about him while he was alive, and how were his actions seen by the public?

I'm a long time anti-Senna fan. I lived and breathed F1 when he was in it. Yes, a stunning driving talent, but a complete tool too boot. The only two people beneathe him on my list are Nelson Piquet and Schumacher. They should have clamped down on his lack of sportsmanship driving back then and headed off the Schumachers of the world who came later.

Just like most drivers, your view on Senna varried if you were a fan or not a fan. He was definitely ruthless on the track, and had a few not so stellar moments, but them almost every driver I know has a few of those, and I know several professonal drivers.

The sad truth is, it's difficult to get to the top and still be considered a nice guy. There are a few that have pulled it off, but you really need an attitude that says all I want to live for is to win. It requires not only skill, but also enormous time and energy to be successful, and those are traits that both Senna and Earnhardt had, as well as Schumacher. And yes even Prost. Prost was just as bad as Senna, but he was not so in your face about it.

In many ways I think the film portrayed him pretty well, although clearly it was somewhat biased. His treatment by the FIA (FISA at the time?) was also fairly accurate. The French lean was there.

Back to the original comment though, it was interesting that Earnhardt was very much a Senna fan, and on the day he died, Earnhardt won and talked about Senna in victory lane.

Dale Sr. was pretty much the american equivelant to Aryton, different series, but they seemed to share the same traits. Aryton was feared in the rain, Dale Sr. in a draft. Both would remove you from the equation if it suited them. Both their deaths changed their respective series.

That pretty much reaches my limits of knowledge from either person or series.

racerdave600 wrote: Back to the original comment though, it was interesting that Earnhardt was very much a Senna fan, and on the day he died, Earnhardt won and talked about Senna in victory lane.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq6mVAXegyw

He certainly gained the enduring respect of his direct peers.

I thought I was the only one. Cool doc., but what I took home was "This guy was kind of a E36 M3 head, and that's with us trying really really hard to make it look like he wasn't" I'm not a big fan of watching racing, but that was my takeaway from the doc. All that said, very sad story. That accident was berkeleying horrible.

poopshovel wrote: I thought I was the only one. Cool doc., but what I took home was "This guy was kind of a E36 M3 head, and that's with us trying really really hard to make it look like he wasn't" I'm not a big fan of watching racing, but that was my takeaway from the doc.

What this brings to mind for me is Tony Stewart. To a lot of people he is pretty much a jerk, but a good friend used to build his kart motors for him years ago and got him to appear in a race expo we helped put together. In person, he was absolutely a different person, and not at all self absorbed as he came across on TV. At the track, different story. I get the impression that Senna was very much that way too.