It’s been 30 years since the legendary racer, Ayrton Senna, tragically passed away in Imola. Senna’s career was marked by numerous victories, but in 1980, he had to concede defeat to Peter de Bruijn during the Karting World Championship. “He was just another competitor like all the others,” recalls de Bruijn.
“Of course, I’m not the only one who has ever beaten Senna in karting, but that World Championship is the one most talked about. And that’s because he came second, not because I came first,” admits de Bruijn. “At that time, Senna was just another competitor like all the others. Years later, he became the F1 world champion, and then you inevitably get drawn back into it.”
Remembering Senna: A Fierce Competitor and a Gentleman
“We had quite good contact at the time when we saw each other on race days. He even once offered his tires because he knew he couldn’t win due to an inferior engine and saw that my brand of tires wasn’t the fastest. That was indicative of who he was,” the karting legend recalls. “As soon as he took off his helmet, he was a calm guy. In terms of driving, he was aggressive and fierce, but not unsporting. Always with a knife between his teeth.”
The Last Time
Peter De Bruijn still finds the fatal crash of Senna in Imola in 1994 a sensitive topic. “I don’t watch it anymore. I was watching the race with my mechanic at the time. I saw it happen and immediately walked away,” he recalls. De Bruijn had spoken to Senna half a year before during the Elf Masters in Paris Bercy. This karting competition, which also included Formula 1 drivers, saw Alain Prost and Senna race against each other for the last time in 1993. “Senna had just fitted his seat at Williams. He was being interviewed on Eurosport and they put me on TV right in front of him. I hadn’t seen him for a long time and didn’t expect him to recognize me after all these years. But he immediately shouted: ‘Hey Peter, how are you?’. That was quite special,” De Bruijn shares.
Listen to the podcast ‘Formula 1 Paddock Talk’ with Peter de Bruijn above on our site or via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google podcast.
