{"id":22519,"date":"2020-07-04T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senna.com\/?p=22519"},"modified":"2020-07-04T11:00:28","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T14:00:28","slug":"independence-day-remember-sennas-wins-in-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.senna.com\/en\/independence-day-remember-sennas-wins-in-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"Independence Day: remember Senna\u2019s 5 wins in the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The US Independence Day is celebrated on the 4th<\/sup>\u00a0of July and it\u2019s one of the biggest festivities in the country where Ayrton Senna won five times \u2013 twice in Phoenix and three times in Detroit.<\/p>\n

Both GPs took place at street circuits, and the three-time F1 world champion was always dominant in that type of race.<\/p>\n

Another interesting story involving the Brazilian driver in the US took place in 1992, when he tested an IndyCar race car. During the negotiations of his contract with McLaren for 1993, Ayrton took some time after the end of the 1992 season to test a Penske car at Firebird, a circuit in the Arizona desert, with his friend Emerson Fittipaldi.<\/p>\n

Learn more about these stories:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detroit<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The 1986 Detroit GP was marked by a curious story. While Senna made Brazilian sports fans happy on the track, things didn\u00b4t go so well on the football fields of the FIFA World Cup that was taking place in Mexico. The Brazilian squad had just been eliminated on the previous day, in the match against France, the country of origin of several Renault mechanics that worked on Senna\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Senna restored the Brazilian pride by celebrating his win with a gesture that would become his trademark. The driver stopped during the cool down lap to pick up a Brazilian flag and took a final lap while holding it high.<\/p>\n

In 1987, Senna ruled the streets of Detroit once again, this time driving the yellow Lotus. The Brazilian started in second and trailed behind Nigel Mansell (Williams) for 33 laps. When the Britton stopped to change tires, the McLaren driver took the lead and stayed there. In a risky strategy, he took care of his tires and didn\u2019t make a pit stop, unlike most of his rivals.<\/p>\n

In the 1988 Detroit GP, Senna secured his sixth pole position in six races that year \u2013 an amazing performance that was starting to bother his McLaren teammate, Alain Prost, then a two-time world champion (1985-1986). Leaving his competition behind, Senna won from start to finish, with a 38-second advantage over Prost and lapping Benetton\u2019s Thierry Boutsen, who finished in third.<\/p>\n

Phoenix<\/strong><\/p>\n

Surprisingly, a heavy rain fell on the Arizona desert during Saturday\u2019s qualifying sessions for the 1990 Phoenix GP, which meant that only the times posted on Friday would be considered.\u00a0 Therefore, Ayrton started in fifth place. On Sunday, Senna was able to jump to second place during the first few laps, but Jean Alesi was unwilling to give up his position. Senna doggedly pursued him and, on lap 34, overtook Alesi at the end of the main straight.\u00a0 But he couldn\u2019t have predicted that Alesi would recover on the following corner with a switchback.<\/p>\n