Bruno Senna is sinds 2011 ambassadeur van Quirijn van Beek, bekend uit de Honda Cadet klasse in het Nederlands Kampioenschap 4-takt. Quirijn draait al een aantal jaar mee in de kartsport en niet zonder succes; zo eindigde Quirijn al twee maal in de top 3 van het NK. Een ‘simpel’ e-mailtje naar Senna resulteerde - tot verrassing van vader Floris van Beek - in een bijzonder contact met de Braziliaanse Formule 1 coureur.

Quirijn komt dit jaar uit op MS Kart uit de stal van Jan Cramer. Met Jan Cramer en Bruno Senna kan Quirijn zich geen betere ondersteuning wensen. Als onderdeel van het ambassadeurschap geeft Bruno Senna meerdere keren per jaar een kijkje in zijn leven als topsporter. In het eerste en onderstaande interview vertelt Senna onder andere over de start van zijn carrière, de belangrijkheid van de kartsport en over het helm project dat hij samen met van Beek opzette voor de Senna Foundation. Lees hieronder het interview met Senna en op de volgende pagina’s een verslag van de seizoenstart van Quirijn.



Interview Bruno Senna

Hello Bruno, you are a talent in Formula 1 at the moment. A lot kart drivers will know who Bruno Senna is, but could you give a brief introduction about yourself anyway?
I’m Bruno Senna, currently the reserve driver of Lotus Renault F1 team. I’m a professional racing driver and I love motorsports and sports in general.
A lot of people are dreaming of a career in racing. You already have a career in racing, but how did it all started? It all started at our family’s farm in Tatui. We have a go kart track there and Ayrton and I used to race against each other. That’s when I learned the basics of cars and also fell in love with speed and racing.

Unfortunately soon after that Ayrton had the accident and I stayed away from racing until I turned 18 years old. I tried racing go karts but I would break my ribs every time so eventually Gerhard Berger suggested me to try single seaters. I tested with a F Renault and FBMW and have my first championship in F3 in 2005. That’s when it all really started. Like a lot of other race drivers you have started your career in Karting did give me my base for motor racing. I drove a go kart for the first time when I was 5 years old and practiced a lot until I was 10. This taught me a lot of what I know about car dynamics, mechanical side, tires... If I had raced, I’d know even more than I do now.

Do you think karting is an essential part in the career of a race driver?
It’s very important, because you get an idea of how good the driver is and also teaches a lot of technique and competition at a much lower cost than a race car. Nowadays, go karts with front brakes are getting closer and closer to a race car in terms of driving. During your career you raced in some different formula-cars and championships.

What championship do you like the most?
I think GP2 was quite special, because it was the most competitive series I’ve been in and the cars are fast and hard to drive.

Which race during your career do you remember the most?
It has to be, from a good point of view, my race win in Monaco GP2 2008 and, from a bad point of view, Turkey 2008, when I had an accident with a dog inside the circuit.

Which race during your career do you want to forget as soon as possible?
It’s important to remember every race, good or bad equally, because with both situations you learn and try to steer the course of the next races into the winning path.