Video: Ayrton Senna’s Lotus 97T roars once more Members’ Meeting

The moment finally arrived on Saturday afternoon for Bruno Senna to head out in the Lotus 97T, the exact car that his uncle Ayrton drove to his maiden Grand Prix victory in Estoril 40 years ago, and it was well worth the wait.

Sights and sounds like this are uncommon, it was difficult not to get caught up in the emotion of this moment as the car we’ve all seen in the videos of that historic day got up to speed in front of our eyes.

The mid-1980s is not an era best remembered for the slightly muted sound of its heavily turbocharged engines, but the noise of that Renault Gordini V6 evokes memories of a truly magical era of Formula 1.

Bruno was understandably driving well within the Lotus 97T’s lofty limits, but he was still pushing hard enough to give us a sense of what these cars would’ve been like when Ayrton Senna was teetering on the threshold of the impossible.

Any John Player Special-liveried Lotus immediately catches the eye, perhaps few others more than this Lotus 97T, the car that Ayrton Senna drove to his first ever Formula 1 victory. The 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix was Senna’s second race for Lotus, and he made an immediate impact for the team by putting in one of F1’s great performances.

In appalling conditions, the Brazilian genius dominated the rest of the field, lapping all but one of his competitors to win by more than a minute from Michele Alboreto. As maiden victories go, Senna’s was one of the very best, and the car he drove on that day will fire up once again this weekend, almost exactly 40 years later.

Those rain-soaked seat belts that Ayrton so famously unbuckled as he celebrated his triumph, will be strapped over the shoulders of his nephew Bruno Senna as he takes the 97T out for a series of demonstrations during the 82^nd Members’ Meeting that will deliver equal doses of drama and poignancy.

That 1.5-litre turbocharged Renault Gordini V6 will rumble and roar around the Motor Circuit to inspire memories of a motorsport legend. That engine produced upwards of 800PS and revved to more than 12,000rpm back in 1985, so Senna’s going to have plenty of substance underneath his right foot when he rolls out of the Assembly Area on both Saturday and Sunday.

The 82^nd Members' Meeting is live now! You can watch every moment of the action on our live stream right here on GRR.

  Tickets for the 83rd Members’ Meeting will be available for a limited time immediately after this year’s event for Members and Fellows of the GRRC. Admission and Grandstand tickets will go on sale on Monday 14th April for Members, and Wednesday 16th April for Fellows.  

Photography by Charlie Brenninkmeijer, Toby Whales and Jordan Butters.