⁠In May of 1984 Mercedes-Benz organized an exhibition race called "The Race of Champions," which took place just ahead of the European Grand Prix at the reopened Nurburgring. As the name suggests, the field of drivers were some of the best to have ever raced - Lauda, Prost, Reutemann, Rosberg, Moss, Hulme, Hill, Jones, Watson, and the list does go on. However, not everyone on that grid was as well known. A young, new-to-F1 Brazilian driver was asked to substitute for Emo Fittipaldi just one week after he failed to qualify for the San Marino GP. It’s safe to say the crowds were there to see the “real” champions and as a result the expectations for a young Ayrton Senna were not high. Well, he came out of the gate swinging and drove the trousers off of the 190E, taking the top spot on the podium. Ayrton Senna put on a masterclass of car control and how to drive on the limit. He would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. And it all (kind of) started in a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16v. -⁠ -⁠ -⁠ -⁠ -⁠ -⁠ #MercedesBenz #Mercedes #Mercedes190E #190E #190E2316 #Cosworth #Racing #RaceCar #RaceCars #BecauseRaceCar #Nardo #Italy #Fast #EnduranceRacing #carswithoutlimits #carporn #sportscar #automotive #carsofinstagram #cargram #instacar #cars #Vintage #Retro #AutomotiveHistory #F1 #Formula1 #GrandPrix #AyrtonSenna