The work of UK-based motorsport artist Paul Oz, the 280kg bronze statue has been created from 3D scans of a Goodyear Eagle tyre from Ayrton Senna’s 1993 McLaren.
Senna drove the car, which lives at McLaren headquarters at Woking in the UK, to what proved his final F1 win in Adelaide that year.
The statue was unveiled by Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Dr. Jane Lomax-Smith AM, and three ex-F1 drivers with ties to Senna – Thierry Boutsen, Stefan Johansson and Martin Donnelly.
“Bronze pretty much lasts forever,” reads a note from Oz placed with the statue.
“The symbol 8 means forever… so to me, this was the perfect foundation for a sculpture to mark the last race win of Ayrton Senna, driving car No.8, at the Australian GP in Adelaide, 1993.”
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival again carries a strong F1 theme harking back to the city’s time hosting the AGP from 1985-1995.
Others set to attend this weekend include Mika Häkkinen, David Coulthard and Valtteri Bottas, while a host of old F1 machinery is set to take to the Victoria Park circuit.
