Grand Prix Insider

1º de maio - Dia dos trabalhadores, aniversário da morte Ayrton Senna da Silva. Quero mais uma vez recomendar a leitura do post do meu amigo Speeder no Continental Circus, mais uma bela matéria dele! Neste blog, vale talvez relembrar, embora a maioria já conhece, lembranças pessoais minhas enquanto ao Ayrton.

1/5/1951, Geoffrey Lees is born in Atherstone, UK

Winner of the 1981 European Formula 2 Championship in a Ralt-Honda, Lees enjoyed only occasional Formula 1 outings, a seventh for Tyrrell at Hockenheim in 1979 being his best result. After his last Formula 1 outing at Paul Ricard in 1982 for Lotus, he concentrated on building a successful career in Japan and was associated with the Toyota World Sports Car Championship squad for many seasons.

1/5/1955, Mike Nazaruk dies.

Nazaruk was a midget racing ace. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 when it counted as a roud of the Formula 1 World Championship and finished second in his first Indy 500 in 1951. He competed in two more times at Indy, scoring a fifth place finish in 1954. Nazaruk was killed in a sprint car race at Langhorne Speedway on 1st of May 1955.

Born: 2th October 1921 in Newark, USA;
Died: 1st of May 1955 in Langhorne, USA, aged 33.

1/5/1994, Ayrton Senna da Silva dies.

Ayrton Senna needs no introduction. One would describe him as extremely commitment, dedicated and taken by a willingness to go right to the very edge, very detailed in technical feedback, incredible speed and sometimes ruthless, a recklessness that would either impress or infuriate, depending on the point of view. But aside what he was capable of in the cockpit of a race car, he was, on the other hand, a sensible and frequently misunderstood, highly emotional and compassionate man. Fourteen years after his death he is still worshipped in his native Brazil as one of the greatest sports stars and as a remarkable personality.

Born: 21st of March 1960 in São Paulo, Brazil;
Died: 1st of May 1994 at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy

1/5/1999, Brian Shawe-Taylor dies.

A successful racer on the British national scene, his best result came in the 1951 Ulster Trophy race at Dundrod finishing 3rd in an ERA behind winner Giuseppe Farina and Reg Parnell. Later that year, at the Daily Graphic Trophy race at Goodwood, he suffered a serious accident, being thrown out of his car after a collision. In a coma for many weeks, he eventually made a full recovery, but decided it was probably wiser to quit the sport.

Born: 29th of January 1915 in Dublin, Ireland.
Died: 1st of May 1999 in Cheltenham, UK, aged 84.

1/5/1928, John Desmond Titterington is born in Cultra, Northern Ireland

Desmond Titterington came from a wealthy family and racing with an Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar and for the Mercedes works-team became one of the top names on the British racing scene. He then tried his hand at Formula 1, his first outing being in the Gold Cup at Oulton Park in September 1955, driving for Vanwall. He finished third behind Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn. The following year he drove a Connaught and raced at Syracuse and then finished third in the BRDC Trophy at Aintree. At the International Trophy he and Scott-Brown raced to second and third and soon afterwards he took part in his one and only World Championship event, the British GP at Silverstone. A promising performance in qualifying did not translate into a good result as his engine broke in the race. Titterington continued to race Jaguars sports cars but at the end of the year announced that he was retiring to concentrate on his business and his family. He did reappear later in a number of minor events, just for fun, but never raced seriously.

Born: 1st of May 1928 in Cultra, Northern Ireland;
Died: 13th of A pril2002 in Dundee, Scotalnd, aged 73.