Remembering Ayrton Senna May 01 2014

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death at Imola and while Senna is most praised for his racing career, what strikes us as remarkable, is that his life off track was just as compelling. Senna was noted by his team mates as a practical jokester, and an intensely spiritual man who followed Jesus. While he was not perfect, Senna's convictions ultimately led to his repaired relationship with Jackie Stewart, and conversations with Sid Watkins to make F1 a safer sport. Leveraging his status as a 3 time world champion, they rallied for better safety regulations but in the end, his and the life of Roland Ratzenberger, were the compelling arguments that moved the sanctioning bodies into action. Because of their lives, there have been significant changes, most of which were illustrated in Mark Webber's crash in 2010.

His greatest contribution though was largely unseen. During his career, Senna silently gave away roughly $400 million in humanitarian aid, and before his untimely death, he set up the framework for what is now known as the Instituto Ayrton Senna, an NGO dedicated to creating human development opportunities for children and young Brazilians. It is still in operation today and now has affected the lives of over 10 million in Brazil, leading to generations upon generations of Brazilians who will have the education they need, and the skills to succeed and bless others like Senna did for them.

So today we honor you Mr. Senna, and thank you for your reminder to enjoy life, but to also strive after the things that will have a lasting impact. Whether it's organizing a charity drive, or just helping your neighbor change their oil, we have been blessed greatly, so let's pass it on today.

Click here to download our commemorative iPhone background.

 

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