We were in the pouring rain at a fairly miserable Donington Park, but we got to see Ayrton Senna drive one of the great laps in Formula 1 history in his McLaren-Cosworth, humbling the Williams-Renaults… Wonderful stuff.
Great memories.
Or this, if the above does not work
joeblogsf1 
And I still remember as it was yesterday
I was only a young whippersnapper but very jealous you were there to witness this Joe. Senna in a nutshell.
20 years? Ouch! Thanks (I think…) for the reminder Joe, a fantastic race and one I remember very well. One thing that beggars belief these days is that with the short pit lane and no speed limits there (no, for the youngsters, I’m serious, in hindsight it might seem barking, but at the time…) Senna set the fastest lap of the race by driving through the pit lane! Going back to Donington for the historic festival next month, and I’ll certainly be taking these memories with me.
JOhn C– Could you expand on this? And define the term “barking”?
As in ‘barking mad’! I’m only 3 years older than this race, and yes, the first time I saw on YouTube (classic races were never available to view offline, were they? Unless you could find a season review video, or see a historic segment on the F1 programming of the day) the cars accelerate to full speed while leaving the pits, while many teams’ pit crews were out in the smaller pit lanes that existed back then, I was surprised that no one had ever been ran over or seriously injured! Although, I’ve found out since, stories about flying tyres..
Fantastic! Superb driver.
Unforgettable. We all got soaking wet but it was worth every minute of it. A master at the top of his art.
One of the best laps of racing you’ll ever see. None of those nambi pambi team orders stuff for Aryton. ‘If you see a gap and you don’t go for that gap you’re no longer a racing driver.”
More like ‘One of the best laps of racing you’ll never see.” Why does FOM pull great videos like this off the web? They can only increase interest in F1. What a bunch of stupid people.
20 years ago … now I feel old! lol
I think Senna’s race winning car is on display at the track museum from time to time. Missed it on my visit there last year, but there’s some other great memorabilia from the 93 race, not to mention one of the best collection of f1 cars you’ll see.
Magical!
Magic drive. Of course, don’t forget his drive in Suzuka the same year .
Bet Eddie Irvine wont forget 🙂
Yeah, really wanted to be there. It was three years prior to that when I watched F3000 cars through the Craner Curves that I truly appreciated what downforce and grip were. To see Senna overtake round the outside there blew my mind. Seen nothing like that lap before or since.
I’m sitting here with a tear in my eye. I spent that day stood at the bottom of the Craner Curves. We got so wet but we didn’t care. There were two speeds that the cars drove through the Old Hairpin that day. Senna speed and eveyone else speed. Magical.
The very end of this video part 8 and beginning of part 9 cover Senna’s infamous fastest lap at Donington:
A lap record which stood until an A1GP test in 2008, admittedly 1993 was the only time F1 raced at Donington.
What a fantastic race! I particularly like the casual wave Senna gives the pitcrew as he sweeps through.
Senna’s lap record still stands for the convention is that lap records are only counted when they are set in race conditions.
Thanks for clarifying.
By the way the footage of senna going straight through the pits doesn’t start until 9.40 on the video posted above, but carries on in part 9 for quite a while.
Now no longer available! Well done, FOM. Yet another triumph for small-mindedness.
Jo
What a memory! The following weekend we set off on The London to Sydney Marathon with Nick Brittan as one of the redshirts. What a wonderful year 1993 was. It’s a pity that FOM has taken the video down – ah well, no soul some people.
BE’s thought police have taken it down
…Black Screen of FOM Copyright Death…!!!
…Money – money – money…???
We were dripping on the bank at the bottom of the Craner Curves – his move down the outside on the entrance to the Curves was heart-stopping and possibly the best part of the greatest lap. How I miss ‘watching the yellow helmet go by’.
Ah memories. And thanks to FOM and their copyright goons it’s a good thing we’ve got them!
That was my first full year as an F1 fan after getting hooked halfway through Mansell’s 92 championship. I remember the excitement about that lap, but I was unaware at the time how much of an engine disadvantage he had.
Arrived late….video was removed by FOM…….
Bugger. Won’t let me watch the video due to copywriter claim by FOM.
“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Formula One Management.” 😦
I’ll look for another.
I think Formula One Management is reading your blog, Joe!
Shame that Formula One Management has taken the video down. Luckily, I can remember that lap so well. I couldn’t believe what I was saying. The banter in the post-race interviews was almost as entertaining.
“Video no longer available due to copyright claim by FOM
Well done Bernie.
Heaven forbid that a grainy, 20 year old video clip on YouTube should get people interested in F1.
It shows dangerous racing in even more dangerous weather conditions…..Think of the children…
Would love to watch it, but it looks like Bernie doesn’t want me to..
Damm you Bernie Ecclestone!!!….FOM has taken the video down, this is a great way to promote the sport, by taking away 20 year old footage from the fans.
I was there and it was good. However, I think his opening laps at Silverstone later that year ahead of Alan Prost’s Williams was as good if not better. Senna’s car not being as good as the Williams but delaying the inevitable pass for a number of laps was truly magnificent.
Each to his own!
I love Donington Park. Unfortunately, I was too young to have seen this at the time! I find it so surreal seeing the cars racing at a track like Donington – I was looking forward to the British GP moving there, but alas it was not to be!
Not that there’s anything wrong with Silverstone!
Thanks Bernie… (for removing it)… copyright the memory so it cannot be shared…
That Sgt Pepper taught the band to play…
From memory, yes the Ford engine was supposed to be down on power compared with the Renaults and even the works Ford Benettons at that time, but I recall reading that McLaren had a gearbox which smoothed out the downchanges, which helped him that day – obviously didn’t help poor Michael Andretti out of the gravel trap on lap 1.
I appear to belong to a fortunate few who have that video footage etched into the hard-drive in my head so I don’t need video support. But you try sourcing an FIA F1 review… (not easy, plus I think it lacks Murray Walker’s commentary).
Senna passed four cars (five if you count Karl Wendlinger getting in his way for a second or two) on the first lap. Barrichello passed eight cars on that first lap.
So?
Just math… (smirk) It also shows how good the Brazilians are in the rain. Rubens was running 2nd at one point in the race when he had a mechanical failure after starting from 12th position in his Hart powered Jordon. A double ‘so’ now? -:) Not trying to be churlish, just pointing out another fantastic and mostly overlooked opening lap performance.
It’s so sad that so much race footage is hidden away. I wish FOM would go and set up something online so that their archive of race footage could be watched. I’d pay something to watch many of the races from the 80s and 90s. There you go Bernie, my idea for you to make a bit of money, it could even make you rich one day you know!
That would be logical.
Either FOM is completely blind to the fundamentals of online marketing, or they are hobbled by contracts. If it is the latter, they need to start re-negotiating contracts to allow them to package old footage like this. It is effing stupid that stunning highlights like these cannot be used online to increase interest in the sport.
If FOM is not hobbled by contract terms..well, some people need to be shot into low earth orbit…
Couldn’t agree with you more on this.
It’s simply shocking that, in a sport that lives on the cutting edge of technology, the history of the sport is confined to being able to find a second hand VHS tape of a season review at a car boot sale (and an old VHS player that won’t chew the tape).
I used to have every season review since 1989 – but several of them are now unplayable sadly.
To FOM – At least re-master the old reviews onto a DVD! People will buy them.
The lack of ability to understand the benefits of the web is unfortunately going to be part of Bernie’s legacy to the sport – along with his total inability to sort out the US GP in 2005 to make sure it went ahead. That was the key day in history for him to earn his money by using his so called influence – and he failed.
My personal view is that it is only a matter of time before he gets shuffled to one side… No Concorde agreement… Zero influence now with the FIA… Anyone who works in finance in the UK will be aware that the bribery and corruption legislation requirements have recently gone up enormously… And CVC desperate to float….
John.
A great lap. I was at the Old Hairpin and just to think back to what I saw sends a shiver down my spine. The crowd around me were just stunned and actually applauded. It was immediately recognised as a very special moment.
It was a cold, wet and miserable day with dry spells, light showers and heavier rain. What was extraordinary was how Senna coped with the ever changing track conditions.
20 years!
I was on the spectator banking above Starkey’s bridge, just shaking my head in disbelief at what Ayrton was doing.
I remember about 12 years later gazing at the Mp4-8 on display in MTC and the memory flooding back (no pun intended).
Not Ayrton’s biggest fan but no-one can deny that few laps at Donington was one of the Great F1 moments.
Donnington ’93 is rightly celebrated. You hear little, though, of Montreal the same year. Senna from 8th to 4th on the first lap. Senna passing Alesi on the outside (!!) of the hairpin and the subsequent hair-raising side by side through the high-speed esses (multi !!) is one of the best bits of racing I’ve ever seen.
Well worth finding online (if I post the link then the Empire will find & destroy it faster).
Was this not the beginnings of traction control? Or is my memory at fault?
Schumacher tries to do a Senna on Senna. In doing so he lets Wendlinger by and so he and Senna both lose a place. But, in this instance, it didn’t inconvenience Senna for long.
You know, I think ’93 was Senna’s best season. He put in some magical drives that year.
You can see a little bit of the lap if you look for the Top Gear tribute to Senna on YouTube. They show the lap with commentary from Martin Brundle and Jeremy Clarkson. In fact, if you have not seen the Top Gear tribute I am talking about, you should watch it. It’s amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kUNTtvMOtQ
Fabulous nostalgic stuff, with a lovely duo covering the race in English murk. I do so love real Formula One motor racing as it used to be on the beeb. Can today’s races even approach the aura?
Thanks Joe for remembering us the date and what a driver Ayrton was…I think of him maybe not everyday, but so often and when May 1st get closer and closer on the calendar I feel the pain….19 years haven’t changed anything: We miss you Ayrton !
Cheers Joe. The greatest single lap in F1 history? Certainly the greatest I’ve ever seen. I was there for the Friday qualifying but watched the race live from the comfort of my (dry!) armchair. Great memories. Senna’s greatest single lap however, for me, his greatest ‘race’ was Brazil 1991. Thanks for sharing and remembering AS. I can’t believe that it’ll be the 20th anniversary of Imola next year. I’m sure that next year will see a lot of comment and articles etc (of varying quality) to mark the anniversary however, I’ll be most looking forward to something (hopefully) from you on or around 1st May 2014 as a tribute to both Ayrton (and Roland)? I appreciate that you were there and maybe could share some personal memories?
Just to make it interesting, McLaren had to change Senna’s radiator on the grid. Not what you need to get into a calm frame of mind before the start of a race.
Does anyone remember that a certain Johnny Herbert finished 4th for Lotus at the Donington race in 1993 by only stopping once for tyres. Alain Prost made 7 tyre changes!
Prost 1,5 seconds faster than senna on qualy, that shows how superior the williams was that year. Jo, i want to ask you how do you rate prost as a qualyfier?
Yesterday, I returned from a week’s break in Scotland. Stopped for lunch in Coldstream; some nice Haggis; went down very well! As I crossed the bridge in the town, I looked at a wonderful scene; the River Tweed meandering gently through the stunning border scenery and I thought of Ayrton & the Prof, standing there, fishing together. Ah, if only……. I know Ayrton stayed with Sid, visiting Loretto School and the nearby Clark Room also (early 1990’s I think?). The gracefulness of the famous Donnington first lap and the border scenery; perfect partners.
BTW, yesterday, I saw a wonderful double-page spread photo of Senna, Prost and Hill taken in the rain at the famous Donnington race (pages 68 & 69 I think?) while I was looking at MS magazine. The photographer? GP Plus’s very own Peter Nygaard; a stunning shot – would look exceptional mounted and framed!
Interesting to see a video linked to the one in the post – one about Senna’s first test drives for Williams, McLaren and Toleman. They all said he was faster than the drivers in their cars by one second plus – but Frank said they wouldn’t take on an inexperienced driver. Imagine the impact Senna would have made if he started out in one of those two other teams instead!
I guess it shows how things were a bit different then. Senna had done very well in karting and done two great seasons in Formula Ford and F3. In a similar vein, Button was hired in 2000 until Montoya came back over to race. It seems now that once a driver is ready to drive, it’s best to give them a chance – Bianchi almost didn’t get a chance to impress this year and he subsequently has done very well.