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Brazilian Senna rented a very normal semi-detached house in the village of Tilehurst, near Reading, during the 1980s. The Formula One star lived with friends in Chelsea Close, on Pottery Road Estate, for a couple of years.
“There was no one around and he drove off and left me to sort it out, and I put a note through his door.
“His [Senna’s] friend came round and told me not to worry about it. He said Ayrton had plenty of money and to forget about it.
“He thanked me for letting him know who had done it.”
Ray went on to describe what Ayrton was like as a person, saying: “He was a gentleman. He was brilliant when racing. He would overtake people on corners when no one else would.
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“He was a popular and inspirational man and I was as shocked as anyone when he died, but I am sure it is the way he would have wanted to go, doing what he loved.”
Ayrton died in a tragic accident in 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix.
His car left the racing line at around 191mph, ran in a straight line off the track, and hit the concrete retaining wall at around 145mph.
The 34-year-old died of severe brain injuries in hospital just minutes later.
“Senna is still a huge hero in Brazil, and we regularly get fans turning up here.”
Wayne and his partner were the first people to live in the house on Chelsea Close after Senna, but they never met the racing legend.
Wayne explained: “We were the first people who lived here after Senna and Mauricio Gugelmin, who was another Brazilian driver.
“For a good few months we’d get operator calls from Brazil.
“We’d answer and they couldn’t speak English, so we nearly always ended up paying.”
As well as neighbour Ray, Maureen Edwards, who also lived on the estate, previously recalled seeing Ayrton out jogging.
She said: “He wasn’t that famous then, just one of a crowd, and was always so busy, going here, there and everywhere, but we watched his races on TV and we would all support him.
“It was such a shame when he died. He was so good, but that is the risk they take. He will be remembered as one of the world’s greatest.”
Wayne, however, said that although it was “great” for his home to get so much attention from Brazilian fans, confessed to being “a big fan of Nigel Mansell”.
The 68-year-old is a former British racing car driver who won the Formula One World Championship in 1992.
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