Just hours before his accident, Lotus had taken up an option on Donnelly to drive for them the following season with Jordan, Tyrrell and Arrows vying for his signature.
However, the crash meant he barely scratched the surface of what would have been a lucrative contract.
Donnelly had competed against, and often beaten, the likes of Damon Hill, David Coulthard, and Eddie Irvine in the junior ranks, but had to watch their careers grow while his own F1 dreams came to an end.
He added the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994 was the moment he knew it was time to halt his pursuit.
The pair were friends after racing through the junior categories together, and Senna, who stopped at the scene of Donnelly’s accident and visited him in hospital, had even offered financial support in his recovery.
“Ayrton had his millions made and he was a three-time world champion, but he had nobody to leave it to.
“He had no offspring, no wife. I thought, I’ve died three times, I’m still involved in the sport I love and had a young son at the time, so I just let it go.”
Donnelly is still involved in the sport he loves, just in a different capacity. He was a drivers’ steward for Formula 1, and still competes in the national racing and runs his own Martin Donnelly Academy in Norfolk.
“Time is a healer and you adjust your way of life.
“I have three great kids and I’m still involved in motorsport. Life goes on.”