Henry Surtees dies after Formula 2 crash

[Ardius]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77088

Henry Surtees, the son of 1964 Formula 1 world champion John Surtees, has died following an accident in a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

During the second of the weekend's races, the 18-year-old was struck on the head by a wheel and tyre from the car of Jack Clarke, who had spun into the wall exiting Westfield Bend.

Surtees was knocked unconscious in the accident and his car failed to negotiate the following Sheene Corner, running straight off the track and into the barrier.

Medical crews were swiftly on the scene to extract Surtees from the car, before he was taken to the track's medical centre. He was stabilised at the circuit's facility before being airlifted to the Royal London hospital.

A spokesperson for the hospital this evening confirmed that Surtees had died from his injuries.

Surtees graduated to F2 this season from Formula Renault and had taken his first podium finish in the series with third place in Saturday's race at Brands Hatch.

His step up to the category came after several seasons in karts, which included victory in the Junior Gearbox Championship in 2005, before a graduation to car racing in the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2006.

He switched to single seaters in 2007, taking a race victory in Formula BMW UK for Carlin Motorsport en route to seventh overall in the standings - and second in the rookie cup.

He also made a brief foray into the Formula Renault UK championship that year, contesting the final two rounds at Thruxton as well as the Winter Series.

In 2008 he remained in Formula Renault, taking 12th in the final standings before finishing runner-up in the Winter Series with one victory and three podiums from four races. He also contested last year's British Formula 3 season finale in a National Class car for Carlin, taking one victory and one podium.

AUTOSPORT sends its sincere condolences to Henry's family and friends.

I felt I had to post this here after I watched this race live today and its been the first death I have witnessed live since Ayrton Senna's crash in 1994. I instantly knew when that tyre hit that something horrible had happened, before even he went off the track. Its very unlucky that in such days of supreme safety that this would happen, his father survived many a potentially-fatal crash in an era where safety was not even well-considered.
RIP, 18 is not an age to die and I'm very sad right now for witnessing that live. I hope the wheel tethers are seriously investigated now as they have been rather questionable for some time now, regularly coming loose during F1 races of recent times.

For anyone who wants to see, here is the incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTDiYS1NVW4

 

[____no5]

I felt I had to post this here after I watched this race live today and its been the first death I have witnessed live since Ayrton Senna's crash in 1994.

You withnessed Ayrton Senna's crash LIVE ? 

 

[Forostar]

Live can mean: en direct, on television.

 

[Perun]

As I did. And many millions.

 

[____no5]

Live can mean: en direct, on television.

what a dumb I am -of course  !
I too witnessed Senna's death. 

By the way : it was a glorious time for F1 the Prost /Senna's years

 

[Perun]

I too witnessed Senna's death, it was a glorious time for F1 the Prost /Senna's years

Alright, I'm going to tell you what this reads like. It reads like you are saying that Senna's death was a glorious time for the Formula 1.

I know it's not what you are trying to say, but it is what you are saying there. I know you are trying to say that you witnessed Senna's death, and then you are trying to add a wistful reminiscence of the Prost/Senna years being a glorious time for the Formula 1.

But you aren't. You are saying that you witnessed Senna's death, that it was a glorious time for the Formula 1, and then you are adding the words "the Prost / Senna's years" in the end with seemingly no connection to the rest of the sentence.

Hell, it isn't even a sentence. Sentences end with a FULL STOP. That's that little thing at the end of everybody's sentences except for yours:

.​

The above is at best a brainstorming, a random tossing together of facts and statements that needs to be assembled into a proper sentence first. Everybody does that when they want to say something, but they do that in their mind so that what they say in the end does not come out like what is quoted above. So please, try to come up with an intelligible, unambiguous sentence that people don't have to put together in their minds first in future. It would be very polite if you did that, because people don't live in your head, and they don't take the journey of your thoughts. Just because something makes sense to you doesn't automatically mean it makes sense to other people as well. Please be considerate. It would make your posts a lot more pleasant to read.

 

[Ardius]

You withnessed Ayrton Senna's crash LIVE ? 

As was said, I meant see it happen at the time on television.

Yesterday we had yet another horrific accident with Felipe Massa at in the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session. He was hit on the left side of the head by a suspension piece while travelling approximately 150mph. He's currently under induced coma though his scans are good. Couldn't believe it when I saw it after Surtees last weekend.
Today we also had a little scare as Fernando Alonso's wheel fell off after not being attached properly, but thankfully in this case it happened with no one behind and settled at the side of the track.

Not a good week for motorsport, lots of freak accidents.

 

[Albie]

Motor sport will never be completely safe and such accidents are likely to re-occur - debris from a car and open cockpits are a recipe for disaster.