Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio Memorial in the garden of the Donington Collection, Leicestershire.
Subjects: (from L to R) Ayrton Senna, Juan Fangio
Sport: Motor Racing
Location: Donington Park Circuit, Leicestershire
Unveiled: 10/7/1997
Sculptor: Three Dimensional Projects Ltd.
Material: Bronze
The plaque at the back reads:
This memorial will stand as a lasting tribute to the achievements of two great sportsmen and is made possible by the generosity of their dedicated fans around the world.
Tom Wheatcroft [signature]
The side facing walls of the monument backdrop list each driver's achievements.
The Ayrton Senna plaque reads:
"Ayrton Senna's memorable victories and remarkable character not only made him one
of the most respected Brazilians of his generation, but express the universality of his
achievements: he will always be remembered as an example of generosity, dedication, and
universal goodwill through sport"
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
The Juan Manuel Fangio plaque reads:
"Our dear Chueco's personality embodied every human virtue at its highest level. His
courage, his chivalry, his unpretentious humility, drew admiration on him both as a
sportsman and as a remarkable human being."
Dr Carlos Saul Menem
President of the Argentine Republic
Ayrton Senna"Ayrton Senna da Silva, (21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won three Formula One world championships for McLaren in 1988, 1990 and 1991, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix for Williams.
Senna began his motorsport career in karting, moved up to open-wheel racing in 1981, and won the 1983 British Formula Three Championship. He made his Formula One debut with Toleman-Hart in 1984, before moving to Lotus-Renault the following year and winning six Grands Prix over the next three seasons. In 1988, he joined Frenchman Alain Prost at McLaren-Honda. Between them, they won all but one of the 16 Grands Prix that year, and Senna claimed his first World Championship. Prost claimed the championship in 1989, and Senna his second and third championships in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, the Williams-Renault combination began to dominate Formula One. Senna nonetheless managed to finish the 1993 season as runner-up, winning five races and negotiating a move to Williams in 1994.
Senna has often been voted as the best and most influential Formula One driver of all time in various motorsport polls. He was recognised for his qualifying speed over one lap, and from 1989 until 2006 he held the record for most pole positions. He was also acclaimed for his wet weather performances, such as the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, and the 1993 European Grand Prix. He holds a record six victories at the Monaco Grand Prix, and is the fifth-most successful driver of all time in terms of race wins. Senna courted controversy throughout his career, particularly during his turbulent rivalry with Prost. In the Japanese Grands Prix of 1989 and 1990, each of which decided the championship of that year, collisions between Senna and Prost determined the eventual winner."
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Juan Manuel Fangio"Juan Manuel Fangio Déramo, (24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed El Chueco ("the bowlegged one", also commonly translated as "bandy legged") or El Maestro ("The Master"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated the first decade of Formula One racing, winning the World Drivers' Championship five times.
From childhood, he abandoned his studies to pursue auto mechanics. In 1938, he debuted in Turismo Carretera, competing in a Ford V8. In 1940, he competed with Chevrolet, winning the Grand Prix International Championship and devoted his time to the Argentine Turismo Carretera becoming its champion, a title he successfully defended a year later. Fangio then competed in Europe between 1947 and 1949 where he achieved further success.
He won the World Championship of Drivers five times—a record which stood for 47 years until beaten by Michael Schumacher—with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati), a feat that has not been repeated. A member of the Formula 1 Hall of Fame,[2] he is regarded by many as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time and holds the highest winning percentage in Formula One – 46.15% – winning 24 of 53 Formula One races he entered. Fangio is the only Argentine driver to have won the Argentine Grand Prix, having won it four times in his career—the most of any driver.
After retirement, Fangio presided as the honorary president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina from 1987, a year after the inauguration of his museum, until his death in 1995. In 2011, on the centenary of his birth, Fangio was remembered around the world and various activities were held in his honor."
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