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Henry Surtees loses life in Brands Hatch accident


dragvorl
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John Surtees' son dies in an accident.

 

 

http://f2.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/07/19/...hatch-accident/

 

 

We regret to report that Formula Two driver Henry Surtees has passed away in a London hospital after the 18-year-old Englishman was struck on the helmet by a flying wheel at Brands Hatch on Sunday. The son of 1964 F1 Champion John Surtees was knocked unconscious before ploughing head on into a crash barrier.

 

Henry Surtees

Henry Surtees

 

Henry Surtees entered his first kart race when he was eight years old at Blackbushe in Hampshire on 25th September 1999 in a 60cc Comer Zip Kart and throughout the remainder of 1999 and 2000 he took part in many club events at Rye House, Buckmore Park and Blackbushe. He was the winner of the 2000 Club Winter Championship at Rye House aged 9.

 

In 2001 he changed to a Cadet Wright Comet Kart and competed in club events throughout the year and was named 'Man of the Meeting' in 'Champions of the Future' at Rowrah. In 2002 Henry graduated to a Mini Max Rotax 125cc for 11/16 year olds. He won at Buckmore Park his first time out, followed by 2 heat wins and fastest lap at Whilton Mill.

 

2003 saw further successes with the Mini Max with many heat and final wins, fastest laps and lap records. He was also a member of the British Inter-Nations team and the highest points scorer and a member of the winning team.

 

In 2004 Henry drove a 125cc Junior Max Rotax at various circuits throughout the country with a number of heat and final wins. In 2005 he competed in two classes in this series, Junior Gearbox and Junior Max with many good heat and final places in the Junior Max class finishing 6th in the event series. In the Junior Gearbox class he had many heat and final wins and was crowned 'Stars of Tomorrow' Junior Gearbox Champion at Buckmore Park on 25 September.

 

His career really started when Henry entered the Ginetta GT Junior series in Great Britain in 2006. He won three races and finished third in the championship. After a year of Formula BMW he moved to Formula Renault 2.0 UK in 2008.

 

Our thoughts are with Henry's friends and family, including parents John and Jane who were both present at the Kent circuit this weekend.

 

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Guest SP-superJay

This only confirms the good die young...such a tragedy

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Awful accident.........makes you think.

 

His parents were at the track.........as a parent I can't think of a worse scernario. Truly tragic.

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This is sick. From that hit, he virtually instantly was in trouble. I have dealt with head trauma like this before.. not from flying F1 rims but other object... the skull is touch... but the coincidence is just amazing and tragic. RIP my friend. Condolences to the family. Sadness.

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I'm truly shocked, my condolences to his friends and family. Rest In Peace Henry!

 

 

As an aside. Every racing car should have those wheel theaters that F1 uses to keep the wheels on the car after a wreck!

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As an aside. Every racing car should have those wheel theaters that F1 uses to keep the wheels on the car after a wreck!

They do use the tethers in that series, but they (obviously) didn't work.

 

Formula Two was approved by the sport's governing body, the FIA, and introduced this year as a low-cost formula two steps away from grand prix racing. The single-seater cars were designed by the Williams F1 team to safety standards complying with the 2005 Formula One regulations. That included have raised cockpit sides to increase protection for the driver's head. MotorSport Vision (MSV), which organises the series and prepares the cars, is carrying out an investigation. Jonathan Palmer, the head of MSV, said the Williams-designed cars had wheel tethers to reduce the risk of wheels coming off. "As with F1, however, wheel tethers cannot provide an absolute guarantee that a wheel will not come off in an accident," Palmer said.The FIA said in a statement: "Following yesterday's tragic accident, the FIA extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Henry Surtees, Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time."

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