RIO DE JANEIRO – Thirty years to the day since his death following a crash that sent shockwaves around the world, Brazilians on May 1 paid homage to Formula One superstar Ayrton Senna – a beloved symbol of national pride comparable only to compatriot Pele.

Fans of the three-time F1 world champion laid flowers, photos and Brazilian flags at Senna’s grave in his home town of Sao Paulo, where he was buried after his tragic San Marino Grand Prix accident at the Imola circuit in 1994.

Some participated in a fun run staged on the twists and turns of the Interlagos motor racing circuit, where Senna scored two emotional F1 victories near the end of his career in 1991 and 1993.

Mourners, including Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira, also gathered for a ceremony at the Imola circuit in Italy, in memory of Senna and his colleague Roland Ratzenberger, an Austrian driver who had died in a separate accident the day before.

“May their memory inspire all of us through the unifying power of sport!” Mr Vieira wrote on social media.

A wave of television programmes have been aired to mark the anniversary, while an exhibition titled I, Ayrton Senna da Silva – 30 years opened in Rio de Janeiro on May 1 after a nationwide tour.

The exhibition features an artificial intelligence-powered recreation of Senna’s voice recounting the defining moments of his turbulent life and career.

On Rio’s famous Copacabana beach, a procession of fans old and young stopped to take photos with a bronze sculpture of Senna, arms aloft and waving a Brazilian flag in triumph.

Among them was Joao Paulo Bertoloni, 30 – only a baby when Senna died at the age of 34.

“I didn’t get to see him live, but everyone was a fan of him in my family,” he said on April 30.

“My father, my grandparents... Everyone told me about Senna. Brazil came to a standstill on Sundays when he was racing,” the business manager added.

Marilane Mattos, 66, can still vividly recall the moment she watched on television as Senna’s Williams car hurtled off the Imola track at about 190mph (305kmh) and ploughed into a wall.

“It was horrible, it still makes me sad today. But I prefer to remember the good times. He was a simple guy like us,” she told AFP.

Senna’s legacy in Brazil has extended far beyond the sporting theatre. The Ayrton Senna Institute was recognised by Unesco in 2004 for its educational projects, which aim to help children from poor neighbourhoods.

“Ayrton always said that if you wanted to change things you had to start with education,” Viviane Senna, Ayrton’s sister and president of the institute, said in a recent video posted on social media.

Founded six months after Senna’s death, the institute claims to have benefited some 36 million students in 3,000 Brazilian cities and towns.

For Brazilian writer Ernesto Rodrigues, author of the biography Ayrton: The Hero Revealed, Senna remains an important cultural figure because he “restored self-esteem to Brazilians” at a time the country was grappling with political and economic crises.

“His name is on streets throughout the country. Every time his name is mentioned, he gives Brazilians a sense of pride. His legacy has been largely preserved,” Rodrigues said.

When Senna died in an Italian hospital of head injuries more than four hours after the crash, the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning for him.

Such was his impact that a million Brazilians turned out to pay their respects in Sao Paolo, crowding the airport and lining city streets to catch a glimpse of his coffin before a private burial.

That was 30 years ago, but Senna has never been forgotten, and his memory lives on forever in the hearts of Brazilians. AFP