The man who beat Senna…
If this name is not familiar to most people, the true race fans will certainly have heard of Terry Fullerton. British karting champion no less than 8 times, four times European champion and world champion in 1973, the Brit remains to this day one of karting’s international icons.
Former revered race driver, team boss and talent scout, amongst which Justin Wilson and Paul di Resta, Fullerton’s career and name will always be associated with the destiny of another legend: Ayrton Senna.
Team mates for the Italian works DAP team between 1978 and 1980, Senna and Fullerton were fierce rivals on the karting tracks all over Europe and beyond. The Brit, aged 25 at the time, was the discipline’s reference. Senna, barely 18, just arrived from his native Brazil, determined to dominate everyone who drives on the old continent. Easier said than done, when you race against Fullerton at the top of his game…
From these formative years that lasted till 1982, Senna kept only fond memories of a time where the passion for motor racing was stronger than any political or financial considerations, the drivers being free to express their talent as they wished. Years later, during a F1 press conference in 1993 and later seen in the movie “Senna” (2010), a journalist questioned the triple world champion about the best driver he has raced against in his career. Many expected the names Prost, Mansell or Piquet to emerge, but it was Fullerton that Senna named as the one he never succeeded to beat, during their time, with equal equipment, in karting. A great recognition which showed the regretted Brazilian love for the discipline and the respect he had for Terry Fullerton, the man he had never succeeded to beat…

World Karting Championship, Kalmar, Sweden. 1980