

Beco
Ayrton Senna was epic, legendary – both on and off the track. Fast, the fastest ever perhaps, and the most loved for sure. A winner, with over 40 Grand Prix triumphs, several victories on the Circuit de Monaco and countless pole positions. A life filled with great passions – not just racing but other sports, too, like tennis, cycling, swimming and flying. A deep religious faith that stayed with him all his life. Many called him Magic, few remember his nickname as a child: Beco, a name that, accidentally, also represents human fragility behind the immortal power of myth. And also the title of the novel by Leonardo Guzzo, which outlines the figure of Ayrton Senna through some of his life's epic moments: that exhausting victory on the Interlagos Circuit, his rivalry with Prost, the historical races in Imola and Suzuka, and – that splendid sunny day of his tragic end – in the cockpit, ready to conquer yet another victory.
“That's how he lived. Trapped into a feeling of loneliness, a state of grace that he couldn't find outside himself except in the wind, in the uproarious flow, in the perception of something that was beyond, in the increasingly shorter time needed to reach, and overcome, that.”
“That's how he lived. Trapped into a feeling of loneliness, a state of grace that he couldn't find outside himself except in the wind, in the uproarious flow, in the perception of something that was beyond, in the increasingly shorter time needed to reach, and overcome, that.”
Beco. Vita in romanzo di Ayrton Senna (Beco. The fabled life of Ayrton Senna)
Leonardo Guzzo
Pequod, 2022