(Motorsport-Total.com) – For 32 years, Bruno Grotti kept a secret. Now he has revealed it: The 78-year-old Italian possessed a piece of wreckage from the Williams FW16, believed lost, with which the three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna fatally crashed in Imola in 1994. Now Grotti has handed the part over to a foundation.
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“I made the donation with joy – aware that this last fragment of the car can be shared with Senna’s fans and will not fall into the hands of someone who wanted to make a business out of it,” explained Grotti, a former race steward in Imola.
The piece of wreckage is part of the rear wing endplate. Grotti found it after the Grand Prix near the crash site. He himself did not witness Senna’s accident on site.
“At that time, I was at the track from Thursday to Saturday. On that cursed May 1st, I was not on duty as a race steward because we had two communion celebrations,” said Grotti.
How the race steward found the piece of wreckage
The Italian retiree called Senna his “idol” and explained: “After the tragedy, I felt the urge to go to the Tamburello corner. I wanted to dedicate a moment of contemplation and prayer to Ayrton.”
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Outside the racetrack, Grotti discovered small pieces of wreckage. “But my gaze went a bit further. In the grass, I recognized the white Goodyear lettering on a dark background. To my great surprise, I was standing in front of a piece of the Williams. I took it with me and kept it hidden all these years.”
Nevertheless, some people learned about the existence of the piece of wreckage. “Those who knew sought me out and offered me exaggerated sums for it. But I always refused to sell it,” said Grotti.
Now he has passed on the rear wing endplate – to the Don Sergio Mantovani Foundation, which wants to establish a museum in Modena for the “Chaplain of the Racers.” The clergyman maintained a lifelong close connection to motorsport and especially to Enzo Ferrari. Mantovani died in 2018 at the age of 92. The piece of wreckage is to be exhibited in this museum in the future.
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