Excerpt from "My Girl" Book (Page 163):
(The date was June 29, 1985)
Sometime after Beco [Senna] arrived, we gathered in the fireplace room for dinner. It was very cold that night and we all sat there talking. He commented to my father:
“Wow, Mr. Amilcar, people are recognizing me more and more out there. It is impressive how far my profession can reach. I did not imagine that everything would happen this fast!”
“Yeah, Ayrton! I hope you realize the responsibility it brings. Our people suffer a lot, they have a very low self-esteem. Misery and unemployment are big problems in our country. And your name reaches countries abroad. Out there, they see us an inexpressive country, they think only indigenous people live here. Of course, they only see bad things on the news about us, and you as a Brazilian, are representing us abroad.”
“Did you know that, the other day, a guy jumped in the track at the end of a race to give me a Brazilian flag? And it made me want to stop and pick up the flag.”
“Well, you should do this! Why didn't you pick up the flag?” my dad asked.
“Oh, I had no reaction at the time! I was not sure what that would cause,” Beco replied.
“So, next time it happens and you feel the urge, stop and pick up our flag. With that attitude, you will carry the entire country with you. We have an unfortunate image. Suffered! And you must realize the privilege of getting where you are now and your responsibility as our representative to the world. We have to be grateful to God for the privileged life we have, we cannot forget the ones who were not so luck,” dad said.
Beco was silent for a few moments. He was certainly thinking about the responsibility as a public man his career imposed.
I know my father was one of the men he most respected and admired during his life and I believe this conversation forged a bond between them. As for dad, I know this conversation represented an opportunity to help raising that brilliant young man. I love it when an enlightened person meets another enlightened being and together, they produce even more light.
Excerpt from "My Girl" Book (Page 264):
At the Canadian GP, in Montreal, on June 15th, Ayrton was in pole position, but Nigel Mansell forced his way through the start, firing ahead, and he got the second position, trying to hold the other cars behind him. It was a tough race for Lotus due to the superiority of Williams and McLaren engines. He finished the race in fifth place.
The US GP occurred on the 22nd, in Detroit, and Ayrton had an emotional win. He started in pole position, but in the first tire change he lost positions, came back in eighth place, had an amazing recovery on the street circuit and won the race. For the first time, he stopped on his way back from the celebration to pick up the Brazilian flag from a fan. Brazil exploded with joy, while I had the privilege of knowing where his motivation for taking such an attitude came from.
We were at the farm watching the race and I said, surprised:
“Dad! Look! He took the flag!”
The fourth part of the Interview given by Adriane Yamin to Eliana's TV Show about this story. Click in the Picture below:
