An exhibition showcasing Keith Sutton's photographs of Ayrton Senna has opened in London. The launch event on 5 March was attended by, among others, Senna's longtime rival Martin Brundle, plus Dennis Rushen and Dick Bennetts – who ran him in Formula Ford and Formula Three respectively.
Sutton first met Senna in 1981, when the Brazilian was racing in Formula Ford 1600. He needed to send photographs back to South America, so the pair struck up a relationship - and friendship - that led to Sutton handling Senna's public relations through ’82 and ’83.
"I used to get phonecalls from Bernie Ecclestone, Ron Dennis and Frank Williams, checking up on his progress," said Sutton, who recalled producing stylish headed paper with 'Ayrton Senna da Silva' across the top and his own rather humble address across the bottom.
Among the pictures is one showing the two men celebrating Senna's FF2000 title in ’82. It was at the start of an evening that ended with the young racing driver attempting to perform wheelies on a moped that he found outside: "He never drank, so the couple that he had went straight to his head…"