“After the accident I didn’t want to betray Ayrton, I took those four photos where he was without a helmet, with a bloody eye socket and I deleted them.” Thirty years have passed quickly, but when he thinks back to his friend Senna, Angelo Orsi, former photographer and Autosprint signature, he has fixed images in his mind. With «Magic» he shared 10 years on circuits around the world.
What would your relationship with Senna be like today?
«A solid and sincere relationship, as in the 10 years at his side. I imagine him from above, laughing at the nonsense of those who, over the years, have remembered him by pretending to be his friend.”
And she, as a true friend, did not betray him.
«I was the only photographer at the bend, just before the outer wall. I ran to the spot on my scooter and started taking photos in a burst, but that wasn’t me, it was the finger that was going by itself. I realized that four shots were crude, with Ayrton in the center without a helmet and a bloody eye. So when I returned to the Autosprint editorial office that evening, once my death had been made official, I told the director Carlo Cavicchi that I didn’t want to publish them. He asked me if I had other images for the newspaper and when I said “yes” he left me free to delete them permanently. I didn’t want to betray my friend.”
That weekend in Imola, Ayrton was not calm…
«He was upset by his friend Barrichello’s accident but above all angry at the FIA, which promised him a sanction for having gone to check on Ratzenberger’s accident at Villeneuve. Ayrton considered that race as a point of relaunching the World Championship. That evening he told me to meet him at the Tamburello after the race, on the lap of honor I would go up with him to take a photo of him under the grandstand, while the Brazilian and Austrian flag was waving (in honor of Ratzenberger).”
Can you tell us about your first meeting with him?
«Silverstone 1983, won the English F3 championship. I was there to take photos at minor league races. A colleague of mine showed up with Ayrton. He was pale, thin and smiling. He asked to sit in front of me and said: “Next year I will come to F1 and win the championship”. We thought he was crazy at first.”
And he was also good at giving her advice on photos.
«He was reading Autosprint and asked me if, by paying, I could give him some».
The best moments?
«Our endless chats when every Thursday evening we explored each circuit together. Ayrton always gave me ideas on how to photograph the cars, as he did in Monte Carlo. He said to me: “Go under the tunnel, the cars will hit the ground and make sparks when they come out.” I took wonderful photos.”
Ayrton also amazed his son.
«During the Imola and Monza GPs, he hung out with my family. He also became my son Matteo’s idol. I often said that sooner or later Ayrton would come to dinner, but Matteo didn’t believe it. So one evening Senna, tired of his scepticism, replied to me: “Tomorrow evening I will be with you, at 8pm sharp”. He did it, and my son was stunned.”
And it drove restaurant waiters crazy.
«He always asked for plain pasta and salad the evening before the GPs, to stay light. I still remember the faces of the waiters who spent minutes explaining at least five or six local specialties to him in vain.”
