Lotus celebrates one of the world’s greatest racing legacies.
The late Ayrton Senna is one of the world’s greatest racing legends, with an incredible legacy of victory and excellence that continues to inspire motorsports today. One of the most iconic chapters in his racing career was his time racing for Team Lotus, which lasted from 1985 to 1987. It was 40 years ago and behind the wheel of a Lotus 97T Formula 1 car when Ayrton Senna won his first F1 victory at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix.
To celebrate the anniversary of one of the most important and formative moments in the legendary Ayrton Senna’s racing career, Lotus brought the same 97T race car back to the Estoril Circuit for the first time since he won the Grand Prix. Driving it was Senna’s nephew, Bruno Senna, whose own motorsport career has helped the Senna legacy continue.
With no traction control and wet weather during the race, Senna called his Portuguese Grand Prix win his greatest, and it is especially poignant considering that it was his first. Both an important moment in Lotus’s rich racing history, and a crucial breakthrough in Senna’s legendary career, the 40th anniversary of Senna’a 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix win deserved the beautiful reunion it had with the Estoril Circuit.
Image Source: Lotus