Bulgin had cleverly tapped into Senna’s fascination with making cars go quickly, the offer of a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, a Vauxhall Nova Sport, a four-wheel-drive 3.6 V6 Escort and Metro 6R4 proving irresistible. The resulting story, titled Welsh rarebit, is a classic piece of Bulgin prose, not only thanks to Ayrton’s precise analysis (and an instant speed that hugely impressed the rally driver car owners), but also because of the razor-sharp observation and pithy style of writing.
Bulgin would lace his work with a searing wit that would be the envy of any comedy writer. A fly-on-the-wall piece at the Brazilian Grand Prix, rather than being a dry catalogue of events, had as its theme the unlikely vision of the gangling Englishman assuming the role of Ayrton’s ‘minder’.
Russell’s loss to lymphatic cancer, 20 years ago this month at the age of 43, robbed us of an original, creative and phenomenally talented writer. As gifted, you might say, as his mate from São Paulo.