APRIL 2, 2004

Senna appeal to be reconsidered

The appeal by Maurizio Passarini against the decision of an Imola court in December 1997 to clear those involved in the accident that killed Ayrton Senna in 1994, is to be reconsidered, following a judgement by La Corte Suprema di Cassazione, Italy's Supreme Court. Passarini's appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal in Bologna in November 1999 but after a delay of three years the prosecutors asked for the case to be reviewed once again, claiming that the appeal process was not carried out correctly.

In theory at least this means that the Senna case could be reopened but before that happens it is only the appeal which is to be reconsidered. Reopening the actual trial is a possibility if the appeal is successful but if that happens holding the case all over again is not going to be easy because much of the evidence (including Senna's car) has been destroyed since being released by the Italian authorities after the end of the first trial.