The neighborhood of Lap, in Rio de Janeiro, is the home of the most recent work of art in honor of Ayrton Senna. Muralist Eduardo Kobra was inspired by the sports atmosphere brought to the city by the Olympic games and painted the “Talento e Superação” [“Talent and Overcoming”] mural on the corner of Visconde de Maranguape and Mosqueira, close to the famous Lap’s Arches, depicting the moment Ayrton Senna reised the trophy of his first win at the Brazilian F1 GP, which took place 25 years ago, at the Interlagos track.
The new mural is about 7.5 x 15 meters and was painted by the artis and his team with spray paint, synthetic enamel and acrylic latex. Kobra mentions that, even though there are no motor sports in the Olympics, Senna’s spirit could be felt at the Games, “because I’m sure he’s inspired – with his talent, determination, extensive training and desire to win – thousands of our country’s athletes and the Brazilian people in general”. The muralist adds, “The image I’ve used is the classic picture of Ayrton Senna, exhausted, raising the trophy of his first F1 victory in Brazil, an epic feat, since he took several laps with just one gear”.
Kobra’s mural has the support of the Ayrton Senna Institute. “The painting carries the same message as the “On the Pulse of Brazil” campaign, which inspired Brazilian Olympians and Paralympians to win in their home-country, just like Ayrton did at the 1991 Brazilian GP”, says Bianca Senna, the Institute’s Branding Director and the driver’s niece.
The three-time F1 world champion had already been portrayed by Kobra in the “A Lenda do Brasil” [“Brazil’s Legend”] mural, in São Paulo, on the corner of Paulista and Consolação, and also at Speedland, the biggest motor-sports complex in Brazil, located in the Tatuapé neighborhood, also in São Paulo, in a mural that depicts Ayrton Senna in his days of karting.
