First, Rubens Barrichello's near-fatal accident, then Roland Ratzenberger, and finally Ayrton Senna's still painful, indelible memory of his death. Both still ache today.
It is hard to forget these days, but even harder to remember when one has been to those locations, felt the asphalt, and touched the tire wall in the turns where the two mentioned racers left this earthly world. I was fortunate enough to place flowers at the 'real graves' of Senna and Ratzenberger in Imola, and I can confidently say that at these locations, the cries of the souls are almost palpable.
The San Marino Grand Prix took two fantastic pilots away from Formula 1. On April 30, 1994, the rising star, Roland Ratzenberger, at the very beginning of his career, and then on May 1, the global superstar Ayrton Senna. It was truly a terrible yet uplifting feeling to visit and commemorate these two sportsmen, whose spirits permeate every corner of the track. Many times, one gets the feeling that when a feeder series' youngsters are waiting on the grid with about 40 others for the lights to go out, the two old ones are watching over them from above, saying:
“Push it to the limit, guys, there’s nothing to fear anymore. We’ve paid the devil's dues for you...”
Photo: AP Photo
