Ayrton Senna, racing the DAP kart at the 1981 Karting World Championships. Photos courtesy Bonhams.
By 1981, future F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna had already proven his mastery of Formula Fords by capturing the RAC Formula Ford 1,600cc championship. His karting days should have been behind him, but the Brazilian had unfinished business at the Karting World Championships. He’d finished second at the 1979 and 1980 events, and 1981 looked to be his year to stand atop the podium, until rule changes made his setup obsolete. Next month, Bonhams will offer the DAP racing kart driven by Senna at the 1981 Parma World Championships as part of its Paris sale, giving Senna fans an (almost) affordable bit of the champion’s racing history.
With his attention focused on driving formula cars, Senna was out of practice behind the wheel of a kart when he arrived in Parma, Italy, for the 1981 World Championships. Worse, he’d been used to driving karts powered by a 100-cc two-stroke engine, but rule changes enacted in 1981 permitted the use of 135-cc engines. The increase in power overtaxed the frame of his DAP kart, and to compound the problem, Senna was the only driver in the field running a DAP engine instead of the more competitive Komet. In the first race, Senna finished in a disappointing 16th place, but rebounded to deliver three third-place finishes and a pair of fourth-place finishes in the finals. Overall, he’d finish the event in fourth place, just one spot off the podium.
Senna would return to the Karting World Championships in 1982 as well, but even a stronger redesigned DAP frame couldn’t overcome the engine troubles he suffered throughout the event. In his last appearance racing a kart (excluding later charity events), Senna would finish in 14th place overall, despite a heroic charge that saw him make up 22 places in the event’s final race. Though he was a multiple-time champion in South America, victory in the Karting World Championship would forever escape Senna.
The 1981 DAP racing kart offered by Bonhams was purchased by the consignor directly from the DAP team at the conclusion of the 1981 World Championships. The original engine used by Senna was not included, so the kart will be sold with a duplicate engine identical to that used in the 1981 event. Documentation proving the authenticity of the kart is included in the sale, and the consignor estimates that the current setup has seen two hours of usage since its completion.
Prices for race cars driven by Senna have climbed well into the six-figure range, but Bonhams is predicting a selling price between $28,000 and $33,000 when his kart crosses the stage on February 5. For additional details on the Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais sale, visit Bonhams.com.
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