Senna almost a saint

SAO PAULO (AP):

Brazil's adoration of Ayrton Senna transcends sports. It's something only someone like Pele can relate to in the country of football.

When hundreds of thousands of people lined up for hours just to take a final glimpse of Senna's body before his funeral, they were paying tribute to more than a three-time Formula One champion who was killed in a crash on May 1, 1994.

To Brazilians, Senna was more than a great sports idol. He personified pride and patriotism.

Every time he pulled the country's green and yellow flag to celebrate his victories on the track, Brazilians rejoiced back home with another triumph by the local hero succeeding abroad.

At a time when Brazil's national team had few victories to celebrate on the football field and the country endured political and economic turmoil, it was Senna who gave Brazilians reason to cheer.

"He was the Brazilian who made it," said Galvao Bueno, the voice of F1 in Brazilian television and Senna's close friend. "He was the Brazilian who went abroad and did better than the Europeans."

Senna's sudden death at the San Marino Grand Prix 20 years ago did more than shock the entire country. It dealt a blow to the pride of a generation of Brazilians who grew up waking up on Sundays expecting to hear Brazil's national anthem after another Senna victory.

"His determination, perfectionism, sense of justice and patriotism made Ayrton a very special person to Brazilians," said Bruno Senna, who was 10 years old when his uncle died.

"There is this nostalgia and unforgettable memories of his great overtaking manoeuvres, great races and great qualifying runs," said Bruno, who also became a race driver and briefly drove for the same Williams team that his uncle was driving for when he died. What happened in the days following Senna's death was symbolic of what he meant to the nation.

The Brazilian government immediately declared three days of mourning and said it would give Senna the same honour as heads of states.

When his body arrived from Italy, authorities estimated that more than a million people lined the streets of Sao Paulo to bid farewell as Senna's coffin was transported atop a firefighter's truck, draped with the Brazilian flag. Television channels were broadcasting live as fans sobbed, waved flags and tossed flowers as the truck went by. Thousands of cars followed behind, honking horns.

Senna's first victory at home, in 1991, was just as special to Senna as it was to Brazilian fans who packed the Interlagos track year after year to see their idol. Senna had come close to triumph at the Brazilian GP several times and finally came through after overcoming a faulty gearbox late in the race. Fans invaded the track and swarmed Senna's McLaren to celebrate.

The first time Senna used the Brazilian flag to celebrate inside his car was at the 1986 US GP in Detroit. He stopped after crossing the finish line and asked a steward to give him the flag from a fan. The gesture was especially meaningful because it happened the day after Brazil's national team lost to France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico.