In the Italian spring of 1979, Ayrton wrote a letter to his former kart trainer and great friend, Lucio Pascual Gascón, known as "Tchê".
In it, the teenage Ayrton shows his gratitude to his friend and his obsession with the technical details of the vehicle he drove. Ayrton was preparing himself for his second world kart championship, which he considered the most important moment of his life. In the letter to Tchê, Ayrton also refers to his great rival at the time, the englishman Terry Fullerton.
Translation of the letter:
Milan, September 16, 1979.
My great friend Tchê,
As you see, time flies and I've been here for over half a month now with incredible anxiety because the most important moment of my life is approaching and you know how important it is.
You're someone who has an incredible responsibility in my life because while my father got me into the karting world, it was you who really put me on the right path, who taught me almost everything I know, who helped me and was there for me in every moment, the person who got me where I am and is most responsible for my successes. I can't express how grateful I am to you, but the truth is, you've earned a great affection and fondness from me because you're an extraordinary person to whom I'm very attached. You can believe in all of this because it's the most sincere thing I have to tell you, "espanholo".
Things are really heating up here because Fullerton is being very arrogant, and both Angelo and Aquilles are about to explode with the englishman, all because I've integrated very well with the Italians, and naturally, the englishman is biting himself with jealousy, but everything is fine with me.
[The brothers Angelo and Achille Parrilla were the owners of the Parrilla team, which manufactured the karts raced by Senna and Fullerton]
After tomorrow (18), we will depart by plane for Estoril, Portugal, but the training sessions will only be on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the schedule and layout of everything being identical to last year. To give you a good idea of everything, just remember how it was all last year, as they practically copied the regulations from last year.
I attended three training sessions in Parma because the engines had a terrible problem with the rings, which were consuming themselves, and everything ended up being resolved by changing the crankshaft balancing, that is, aluminum was replaced by nylon like the Parilla from the past and also lightened that very strong connecting rod that you know. With this, the vibration of the engines decreased significantly and the problem of engine vibration was solved.
As for tires, some sets of special tires arrived from Bridgestone for each heat; regarding the chassis, it is the same model as last year with a few changes in the caster and wheelbase of 1m5cm, as Estoril seems to be very fast and, considering that the tires allow an even higher speed, it becomes necessary to increase the wheelbase. We are just a little confused with carburetors because that swiss who manufactures them is making a big mystery to sell us a few carburetors, which are of vital importance (you know well and I don't need to explain).
Well, I hope there have been news in the newspapers, try to buy O Estado de S. Paulo, as I am providing direct news by phone to this newspaper.
Hugs,
Ayrton.
Note: The photo and the following letter from Ayrton have no connection.
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