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First Posted: 5/1/2014 IMOLA, Italy &#8212; The crowd resembled the kind of gathering normally reserved for a Formula One podium celebration.
Only this time, the thousands in attendance fell silent at exactly 2:17 p.m.
Fans, family members plus fellow and current Formule One drivers attended a solemn but also festive memorial Thursday to mark the exact 20th anniversary of Ayrton Senna&#8217;s death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The ceremony was held on the Imola circuit&#8217;s Tamburello curve where Senna crashed into a concrete wall at about 185 mph. Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger, who died in qualifying a day before, was also remembered.
Among those in attendance were Gerhard Berger, Senna&#8217;s teammate with McLaren, and current Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.
&#8220;I think we all agree that he was the best driver of all time,&#8221; Berger said, drawing a loud round of applause. &#8220;Even if it&#8217;s a sad moment we&#8217;re all very happy to be here and remember Ayrton.&#8221;
Alonso, who has won two F1 titles, was 12 when Senna was killed.
&#8220;For a lot of us he was our idol,&#8221; the Spaniard said. &#8220;I used to watch his races on the news and when you saw that yellow helmet and the No. 1 on his car, that really hit you as a kid.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t have a chance to know him or race with him and there are a lot of people here who really knew him,&#8221; Alonso added. &#8220;But I also see a lot of kids, so he continues to influence a lot of people.&#8221;
Senna&#8217;s niece Paula was among those representing the driver&#8217;s family.
She was impressed with the big turnout.
&#8220;It means that somehow he reached people&#8217;s hearts, with his career and also with the way he was as a person,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I feel like he&#8217;s alive in people&#8217;s hearts, even after all this time. &#8230; It&#8217;s beautiful.&#8221;

Senna honored 20 years after deadly crash