With a samba based on the life and times of Brazilian Formula One great, Ayrton Senna, Unidos da Tijuca drove to victory as the top samba school in Rio de Janeiro for 2014.

The very last of the twelve top samba school to parade, Unidos da Tijuca won a very close fought contest with Salgueiro, winning by just 0.1 of a point out of 300. The winner in 2013, Vila Isabel, could only manage tenth place in 2014.

Placing is important as the winning school can choose when it will parade the following year. The next school has second choice, and so on, until the one school coming up from the second division, Viradouro in 2015, gets the spot that is left.

Normally the school choose to go late on, even last if they can, but there is a danger in going last as if for any reason the parade…