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Green Skull 006
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 2,040
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Senna in a 956?
Yep it's true. Anyone know the details?
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S Reg 823 R Gruppe 246 1955 pre-A Carrera Speedster...x 1974 leichtbau..."Sascha" "It makes me sad. Our cars were meant to be driven, not polished" - Ferry Porsche while surveying a PCA Parade concours field. |
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11-14-2002, 03:20 PM
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Senna drove a 956 in the mid 80s ('84??) at the Nurburgring. The car didn't finish near the top - had electrical problems. He was one of three drivers - Stefan Johannson (sp??) and one other guy.
I'm pretty sure it was '84 - the year he joined F1 with Toleman. Last edited by Jim T; 11-14-2002 at 03:28 PM.. |
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11-14-2002, 03:24 PM
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It was one of the black and yellow 'New Man' sponsered cars. Minichamps makes a 1:43 scale model of it. -- Curt
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11-14-2002, 03:42 PM
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Here's the photo of the model. It's 1984.
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11-14-2002, 03:54 PM
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Green Skull 006
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Rhode Island
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Right you are Jim and Curt, the other driver was Henri Pescarolo. They finished 8th.
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S Reg 823 R Gruppe 246 1955 pre-A Carrera Speedster...x 1974 leichtbau..."Sascha" "It makes me sad. Our cars were meant to be driven, not polished" - Ferry Porsche while surveying a PCA Parade concours field. Last edited by Jim Garfield; 11-14-2002 at 05:32 PM.. |
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11-14-2002, 05:23 PM
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Yup, and Senna also had least two other "interesting" drives to his credit - anyone know what they were?
(PS - and don't say a Rushen Green Van Diemen, that would be considered normal for an up and coming F1 driver at the time. Don't even bother mentioning karts either...)
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John '69 911E "It's a poor craftsman who blames their tools" -- Unknown "Any suspension -- no matter how poorly designed -- can be made to work reasonably well if you just stop it from moving." -- Colin Chapman |
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11-15-2002, 03:58 AM
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Green Skull 006
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 2,040
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John,
you don't mean the Mercedes sedan race before the GP that he won by nudging Prost off do you? Does one involve a motorcycle?
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S Reg 823 R Gruppe 246 1955 pre-A Carrera Speedster...x 1974 leichtbau..."Sascha" "It makes me sad. Our cars were meant to be driven, not polished" - Ferry Porsche while surveying a PCA Parade concours field. Last edited by Jim Garfield; 11-15-2002 at 04:31 AM.. |
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11-15-2002, 04:29 AM
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Jim;
Nope, it's not the Merc, and it still involved 4 wheels. Let's not bother bringing up the Penske test drive, that's not particularly "uncommon" for an F1 driver to do. I guess I'll leave the question open a little longer... 
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John '69 911E "It's a poor craftsman who blames their tools" -- Unknown "Any suspension -- no matter how poorly designed -- can be made to work reasonably well if you just stop it from moving." -- Colin Chapman |
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11-15-2002, 02:50 PM
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He once tested a McLaren in 1993 with a Lamborghini motor in it, but that probably doesn't count. Hmmm, let me think..... -- Curt
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11-15-2002, 03:14 PM
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OK, I know he tested a few rally cars and maybe he did some type of race in a Honda NSX?? There was a Senna Edition version of the NSX at one time. Are you talking about something he actually raced? -- Curt
Senna Metro Group B Rally car:  Senna VW Golf (tested it for a magazine)  Senna Ford Sierra Cosworth RS (tested for a magazine) 
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11-15-2002, 03:25 PM
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Curt Gets it! I love the description of Senna's throttle technique. It reminds me of watching him on TV during one of the races in Phoenix, I remember hearing the sound of him modulating the throttle from one of the in-car camera shots. After I read this it all made sense.
This is about as close as we'll ever get to having a good description of some of Senna's driving secrets.  
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John '69 911E "It's a poor craftsman who blames their tools" -- Unknown "Any suspension -- no matter how poorly designed -- can be made to work reasonably well if you just stop it from moving." -- Colin Chapman |
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11-16-2002, 11:21 AM
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Cool article John! Thanks. I took some photos of Senna during qualifying at the Detroit GP one year. When I got the photos developed I discovered that he was driving bare-handed!! I still can't figure that one out?? -- Curt
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11-16-2002, 12:00 PM
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Location: Mason, OH
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The list of those who drove the 956 / 962 surely includes some of the greatest drivers of all time. Thanks for reminding me about Ayrton.
To this day it has to remain one of the greatest unanswered questions in all of motorsport: what would have happened with both Michael and Ayrton on the track in their prime?
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Doug '81 SC Coupe |
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11-16-2002, 12:07 PM
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Green Skull 006
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Rhode Island
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Thanks John, interesting article. How appropriate that as I was reading it the WRC was on
SPEED channel.
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S Reg 823 R Gruppe 246 1955 pre-A Carrera Speedster...x 1974 leichtbau..."Sascha" "It makes me sad. Our cars were meant to be driven, not polished" - Ferry Porsche while surveying a PCA Parade concours field. |
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11-16-2002, 02:13 PM
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I recently came across this video of Senna driving an NSX around a track in Japan which showed a driver's eye view as well as a foot-cam. It's a fascinating look at how to heal-and-toe in a street car and the interesting way that Senna used the throttle (see the lower right of the first page of the article that I posted above).
Enjoy! 
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John '69 911E "It's a poor craftsman who blames their tools" -- Unknown "Any suspension -- no matter how poorly designed -- can be made to work reasonably well if you just stop it from moving." -- Colin Chapman |
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12-22-2004, 04:18 PM
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Ugh what a tragedy to lose that talent. thanks for the vid. makes me sad though - gawd he was a rock star!!! Amazing how "the best driver of all time" (IMHO) appears so sloppy when you get to see all the camera angles. Its amazing how much is going on to make that speed...it looks so smooth from the outside.
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erik.lombard@gmail.com 1994 Lotus Esprit S4 - interesting! 84 lime green back date (LWB 911R) SOLD  RSR look hot rod, based on 75' SOLD 73 911t 3.0SC Hot rod Gulf Blue - Sold. |
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12-22-2004, 06:47 PM
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Somewhere in the Midwest
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: In the barn!
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Quote:
 Thanks for the article and link John! (Edit) The foot cam was awesome! I wonder what Honda paid to bring Senna to test the NSX for the cameras. Did you notice how the photogs all backed away and put there cameras down when Senna circled the car!
Last edited by MotoSook; 12-23-2004 at 05:19 AM.. |
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12-23-2004, 05:14 AM
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Is anybody else having problems with the NSX video link? Media player
just hangs on "connecting".... but no problems on other videos?
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Scott |
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12-23-2004, 05:42 AM
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Somewhere in the Midwest
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: In the barn!
Posts: 12,499
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Right click and save the file on your harddrive.
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12-23-2004, 05:53 AM
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1971 Porsche Targa 2.5L
1969 Porsche 911E 2.0 E
