Simon Pagenaud will wear a special Ayrton Senna tribute helmet for Indy 500 - MotorSportsTalk

Some of motor racing’s most iconic moments came when Ayrton Senna was driving a McLaren-Honda, a red-and-white car with his trademark, simple yellow helmet with green and blue stripes.

Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports’ Simon Pagenaud will pay tribute for the rest of the month, in a red-and-white Honda (Lucas Oil sponsorship) and a Senna tribute helmet, yellow with green and blue stripes, and red accents on the back.

“Ayrton Senna has been the inspiration for my entire life, whether I’m in a race car or not,” Pagenaud said. “He was my hero as a child, my role model as a teenager and my example as a human and a race car driver.”

Pagenaud contacted the Senna family several months ago with the help of 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran to discuss the idea of bringing the famous yellow helmet to “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Pagenaud made the announcement with three of Senna’s Brazilian countrymen, and all Indianapolis 500 winners: de Ferran, Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan.

“Ayrton’s yellow helmet is recognized all over the world for the aura it had around one of the most special race car drivers we have ever known,” Pagenaud said. “After meeting people who knew and worked with Senna and realizing how blessed I am to have made a life in racing for myself, as well, I wanted to carry Ayrton with me to another checkered flag.”

Additionally, he’ll auction the helmet off after the race to benefit the Ayrton Senna Institute, which promotes children’s literacy efforts.

“Senna inspired people throughout the entire world, and his legacy lives on through the Ayrton Senna Institute, which was established by his sister, Viviane,” Pagenaud said. “I’m truly honored that Viviane and her son Bruno Senna have allowed me to be part of this special opportunity to commemorate Ayrton’s memory at the Indianapolis 500. I’m so excited to have this opportunity to thank Ayrton for what he has taught me up to this day and what he will continue to teach me in the future.”

We think the helmet is awesome, and it gives us some chills.

Here’s some images shared from the moment on Twitter.

In this year’s #Indy500 driver @simonpagenaud will wear a helmet designed to look like Ayrton Senna’s. pic.twitter.com/aEgi4XixIw

— Indy Motor Speedway (@IMS) May 16, 2014

Senna helmet colors to be worn by @simonpagenaud in @IMS 500 unveiled w @h3lio @TonyKanaan @GdeFerran pic.twitter.com/A9y84xLub7

— J. Douglas Boles (@jdouglas4) May 16, 2014

. @tonykanaan remembers copying Senna’s focusing techniques before races when he was younger. #IndyCar #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/8GOeucV81j

— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 16, 2014

Total lid envy as @h3lio, @TonyKanaan and @GdeFerran check out @simonpagenaud‘s Senna tribute Indy500 helmet pic.twitter.com/c8Kf7Tge1t

— Will Buxton (@willbuxton) May 16, 2014

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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