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RIP Ayrton Senna — 20 years ago today

16 June, 2014

 

 

RIP Ayrton Senna — 20 years ago today

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“On the 20th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola in the early laps of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Michael Clark talks to some mates who knew the Brazilian personally”

Bob McMurray was at McLaren when Ayrton Senna arrived for the start of the 1988 season, and was present for the 80 Grands Prix he ran for the team until leaving for Williams at the end of 1993. During that time, he added a further 35 wins to the six he had already won while at Lotus — and he also won all three of his world championships in Honda-powered McLarens.

The stats were impressive — the Brazilian’s time at McLaren reaping wins in 44 per cent of starts, plus a gobsmacking 24 consecutive front-row starts. Bob recalls Senna as a friend, but the Brazilian’s really close friendships — including with his engineer, Gerhard Berger, Ron Dennis, and even Alain Prost initially — were intense. “There were no shades of grey as far as friendships were concerned — he was dedicated to you if you were dedicated to him. He wasn’t arrogant in the least, in fact he was quite kind in many ways, especially to his mechanics who would have bled for him. He was very, very personable, with a great sense of humour. He could actually be quite funny!” Bob remembers.

I ask about the public-versus-private Senna. “He was quite introverted if there were cameras about — but there were times when he could be wildly extrovert out of the public eye, but he wasn’t straightforward! He was complex — because he was a thinker with an incredible brain with a one-track mind when he was focused, which was most of the time. He was able to assimilate great detail, and the stories about him being able to recall gear ratios from last year, or even the year before, are all true. He could be dark — sometimes very dark. He had a veneer of superiority, but he was superior. He was singularly determined at succeeding at the task at hand. He did manage to bear grudges, however …”

This of course leads to the most famous grudge of all: “He was so much less political than Prost — who was massively political. And Ayrton knew that Prost knew how to play the political game better than him,” Bob explains.

Then, in a heartbeat, Bob mentions the two extremes of Senna’s personality. “He’d sign autographs while walking into the paddock — but if he saw a child, he’d invariably stop to talk to them. Yet, on the other hand, he practically invented the trend of intimidation when coming up to lap traffic.”

We talk briefly about Bob’s impressions of Senna after he left McLaren. “He was less than enchanted with the Williams, and I think [he] was a rather troubled chap prior to Imola — he had things going on his private life, although he was so single-minded he never had any problems in shutting the girls out of his mind at a race meeting.”

Bob then tells me something few of us would know: “He wanted to build a house in New Zealand — he loved it here! That was a time when we saw the other side of Ayrton — charging around in a helicopter after an Adelaide Grand Prix as he looked for land to build a house.”

So Ayrton Senna intended to have a holiday home in New Zealand? “Absolutely!”

Read more about Formula One legend Ayrton Senna’s racing life in Issue No. 281 of New Zealand Classic Car magazine.

NZ Classic Car magazine, November/December 2026 issue 408, on sale now

18 October, 2026

Star status for classic Porsche
A long search ends: finding the right car
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, the Porsche 911 heralded an iconic lineage of sports cars, known for their exceptional performance, remarkable racing reliability, and adaptability, second to none.
New Zealand Classic Car, in conjunction with Star Insure, recently conducted a photo competition to find 13 suitably impressive classics to grace the pages of the magazine’s 2027 calendar. A flood of entries showed that Kiwis recognise eye-catching designs and restorations. Many are handy with a camera, too, and have entered some outstanding results.
The choice was not straightforward, with multiple stunning entries, and Geoff Long’s immaculate 1990 Porsche 911 (964 Factory designation) took top honours. Fortunately, Geoff had Ethan Hanlon handy to take the accompanying photos while working in his office.
“I’ve got a young employee who is doing work experience in my office at the moment, and he’s a very avid photographer. So, I said, I’ll buy you breakfast and then why don’t we go and take some photos. He found the right spot, and he spent over an hour photographing.”
Originally sold new in Japan, hence the right-hand drive, the Porsche was resident there for four years before being exported to New Zealand, as Geoff recalls.
“I bought it two-and-a-half years ago, but I looked for it for over two years, because it’s just the colour scheme, interior and exterior I was after. The service file that came with it is extensive; I mean, it’s been beautifully looked after, which is what I wanted to continue, as it does get driven. It doesn’t sit in the garage.”

Classics on the green

16 October, 2026

Many pretenders vie for the title, but the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gets my vote as the biggest thing since sliced bread.
The 71st edition of the world’s pre-eminent and best-known concours event featured 28 classes, judged by a 180-strong jury, which also chose the recipients of 26 special awards.
The size of the event, the number of visitors, and, most mind-numbingly, the sheer number of amazing cars, is almost overwhelming. There are so many quality cars to gaze upon, and so many people gazing at those cars, that it is almost impossible to cover everything.
Notable among the many attractions were the centenary celebrations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an elegant Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, Hermann Graber’s Swiss-bodied cabriolets and coupés, the jewels of Otto Vu Italian V8s, early Alfa Romeos, Lincoln and its centenary, and cars with unorthodox propulsion systems.