97T/2 Stars at Goodwood Members' Meeting
Much to the delight of an appreciative crowd, Bruno Senna demonstrated 97T/2 at the 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting. The iconic black & gold livery looked glorious in the spring sunshine and the distinctive turbo engine sounded quite spectacular.
The weekend formed part of a wider celebration of Ayrton Senna’s first win which will see the car return to the scene of that historic weekend for what is bound to be a hugely poignant moment.
Under glorious clear blue skies spectators were treated to the iconic sight of a John Player Special-liveried Lotus F1 car in motion on the circuit. To cap it all off, Bruno Senna, whose helmet mimics that of his legendary uncle, was behind the wheel evoking memories of that remarkable day in April when Ayrton took his maiden Grand Prix victory at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix.
It's not uncommon to come across icons from motorsport history during a weekend spent in the paddocks at Goodwood, but at the 82nd Members’ Meeting it was 97T/2 that was grabing all the headlines and when the moment finally arrived on Saturday afternoon for Bruno Senna to head out in the the exact car that his uncle Ayrton drove in Estoril 40 years ago, and it was well worth the wait.
Bruno was understandably driving well within the Lotus 97T’s lofty limits, but he was still pushing hard enough to give us a sense of what these cars would’ve been like when Ayrton Senna was teetering on the threshold of the impossible.
“To drive this car… it's just special to be able to give not only myself, but everybody else the opportunity to see these special machines out there and to experience them a little bit.” Bruno told the Goodwood TV crew. "When Clive called me to ask to drive the car, I never said a yes as fast as I did like this.”
Once the Lotus 97T had completed its running at Goodwood on Sunday it was soon heading on its way to Estoril, the scene of that first victory for an emotional recreation on the 40th anniversary of that day.
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