Ayrton Senna was born to drive. The son of Milton and Neyde da Silva made his way into the world on March 21 1970 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was an awkward child with a motor coordination problem. His father realizing that the boy had an interest in cars gave the four-year-old Ayrton a 1-hp kart. Behind the wheel, Ayrton became a different child, focused and skilled. At eight years old Ayrton ‘borrowed’ the family car and although he could not reach the clutch pedal successfully drove the vehicle changing gear by listening to the engine for the correct time. At ten years of age, he was given a 100 cc kart in which he entered unofficial races. His first official kart race took place when he reached the minimum age of thirteen. He loved racing. When, owing to rain, he lost a race he started practicing in wet conditions as often as possible. This skill would serve him well in the future. In 1975, he won the junior class of the Itracolomy National championship as well as being the Sao Paulo state 100 cc champion. The following year he was the Sao Paulo state champion and won the three-hour kart race. Ayrton also won this three-hour race in the following three years. 1977 saw Ayrton becoming the South American kart champion. He was the Brazilian champion in 1978 and 1980 and reached second place in the South American championship in 1979. It was not only in South America that young Ayrton found himself behind the wheel. In 1978, he competed at the world-championship kart meeting at Le Mans finishing eighth. The following year at Estoril, Portugal Ayrton finished second in the championship. Ayrton da Silva, as he was then known, had a goal in life. He wanted to drive and win in the Formula One Grand Prix races. To this end, he left Brazil, with his young wife Liliane Vasconselos, in 1981 to drive in Europe. Based in the United Kingdom he competed in the Formula Ford championship with Ralph Firman and the Van Dieman team. Many trackside commentators had problems with his name frequently calling him Harry da Silva. At the end of the year, he had won two championships in this class of car — The Townsend-Thoreson and the RAC Formula Ford 1600. At the end of the season, he found a problem that has bedeviled many a young racing driver — lack of sponsorship. He returned to Brazil to start work in his fathers firm. The young man was not content in the business world. Milton da Silva persuaded a Brazilian bank to provide some sponsorship as well as providing Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society
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