From the car that started on pole and led the race – with Letter of Authenticity from Neil Trundle

Offered here is a remarkable and historically significant piece of Formula One and Ayrton Senna history – the back right rear DYMAG wheel from Senna's McLaren MP4/5B, which failed while he was leading the 1990 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Having started from pole position, Senna dominated the early laps before disaster struck on lap six. The right rear wheel – the very component offered here – fractured completely, forcing his retirement from the race. Following the incident, the wheel was returned to McLaren in Woking for analysis and subsequently retained by a team mechanic. It now comes accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity signed by Neil Trundle, McLaren's long-serving chief mechanic and team coordinator during Senna's tenure.

This artefact represents not just a mechanical failure, but a vivid moment in Senna's relentless pursuit of perfection – a rare glimpse into the fine margins that defined Formula One's most competitive era.

The failure was publicly addressed in McLaren's own press statement of the time. Ron Dennis explained:

“Obviously we start the season with new wheels and this year we've been using two types of rim, one type from an outside supplier, another manufactured by ourselves. It was a wheel from an outside supplier which failed on this occasion, although in fairness we've never had such a failure on one of these wheels before.”

Ayrton Senna himself recalled:

“On the very first corner of the first lap I knew something was wrong, because I felt something flexing at the right rear. On lap four, the car got rather sideways and I slowed right down. By the time I exited the chicane I was on the radio to the pits thinking I had a deflating tyre. But as I came down the hill to Rivazza I realised I was losing my brakes. I just couldn't stop the car; it was all over the place. By then I was just trying to get out the way of the other cars.”

The rim is now in two separate sections, having completely sheared during the incident, and remains exactly as it was after recovery from the circuit and subsequent factory inspection. It stands as an evocative reminder of both the fragility and the ferocity of top-tier motor racing at the height of the Senna–Prost era. It is exceedingly rare for any authenticated race-used component from Ayrton Senna's McLaren years—particularly one linked to a documented and dramatic race event—to reach the public market.

Included with the wheel are:
An original event programme from the 1990 San Marino Grand Prix
A period issue of Autosport magazine containing the full race report and analysis
The aforementioned Letter of Authenticity from Neil Trundle

A unique opportunity to acquire a true piece of Formula One and Ayrton Senna history.