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Senna’s first Formula One win

The Brazilian racing driver and three-time Formula One World Champion won his first race in Portugal in 1985.

At the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1985, three-time Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna won his first race.

In torrential rain, Senna dominated the race, leading from the start and winning by more than a minute and lapped nearly every other driver.

Whilst other drivers were crashing out, the Brazilian kept his cool and took the chequered flag after 67 laps.

Senna’s mechanic at Lotus, Chris Dinnage, speaks to Guy Kilty about watching from the pit lane.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Senna taking the chequered flag at the Portugese Grand Prix in 1985. Credit: Ercole Colombo/Studio Colombo/Getty Images)

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