Moreira to Ride Special Ayrton Senna Helmet in MotoGP Brazil

LCR Honda rookie Diogo Moreira will don a special helmet commemorating three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna at this weekend's MotoGP round in Brazil.

Moreira, who makes his premier class grand prix debut in Brazil, had the helmet made to pay tribute to the legendary Brazilian driver who was killed in a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

The circuit in Goiania is renamed in Senna's honor and Moreira said it was an honor for him to wear the helmet and follow in his idol's footsteps.

'For me, Senna is a hero, a real hero,' Moreira said ahead of the grand prix.

'I made a special helmet for my home GP and it's a classic one. Up there, we have his face. It's such an honor to wear this helmet.'

Moreira sees parallels between his own career path and that of the great Brazilian driver.

'I mean, for me, he's a hero, and also for Brazil, he's a hero because he made his way from here to Europe and started his career there.

'So for me, he's a hero and I want to follow in his footsteps. I mean, eventually, he had many championships in F1.'

Now, I'm in MotoGP, so we need to try and understand the bike a bit more and see if we can follow his path.'

Moreira will become the first Brazilian rider to compete in a home MotoGP round since Alex Barros in 2004.

The rookie does not see the increased media and fan attention as pressure, though.

'I like seeing my face in the airport, also around the city. I'm glad to have this in Brazil.'

'I will try to be very calm during the weekend and try to enjoy the weekend and work with the team.'

'For me, it's not pressure. We need to focus on the weekend and try to forget about other things. Let's see.'

Moreira scored points on his MotoGP debut in Thailand with a 13th-place finish.