Henry Surtees Dies after Formula 2 Crash
Son of F1 World Champion John Surtees Killed at Brands Hatch
Jul 20, 2009
Henry Surtees, the son of former motorcycle and Formula 1 World Champion John Surtees, died yesterday after a crash at Brands Hatch. Surtees, aged 18, was competing in a round of the new Formula 2 series.
Henry Surtees Killed in Brands Hatch F2 crash
Earlier in the weekend Surtees had stood on a Formula 2 podium for the first time in his career, after finishing third in race one. A spin in race two dropped him down the order and he was chasing back through the pack when the accident occurred.
Another competitor, Jack Clarke, crashed at the fast Westfield corner. A wheel detached itself from Clarke's car and bounced back across the track where it struck the cockpit of Surtees' passing car. Surtees, knocked unconscious, then crashed heavily at the following corner.
The race was quickly stopped while rescue teams attended to Surtees. While Clarke walked away from his crash Surtees was taken to the Brands Hatch medical centre before being airlifted to the Royal London Hospital. A spokesman for the hospital confirmed that Surtees had succumbed to his injuries last night.
The crash which claimed the life of Surtees was reminiscent of another freak accident which occurred in 1980. During a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim Markus Hottinger was struck and killed by an errant wheel from a competitor's crashed car.
Racing Career of Henry Surtees
Surtees was born on February 18th, 1991. His father John is best known for being the only person to win both the motorcycle and Formula 1 World Championships. After great success on motorcycles he went on to claim the 1964 Formula 1 title in a Ferrari. During the 1970s Surtees ran his own Formula 1 team before retiring from the sport. In recent years he has concerned himself with looking after his son's racing career.
After several years of karting, which included winning the 2005 British Junior Gearbox Championship, Henry Surtees moved into cars in 2006. He spent that year competing in the Ginetta Junior series before switching to Formula BMW UK for 2007. It was a successful year for Surtees as he finished second in the rookie standings and seventh overall in the championship.
Towards the end of 2007 Surtees made a few appearances in Formula Renault, before embarking on a full season the following year. He finished 12th overall in the main series and second in the shorter winter championship. Surtees also made his Formula 3 debut last year, scoring a victory in the national class driving for the Carlin team.
For 2009 Surtees switched to the new Formula 2 series. The championship uses identical cars designed by Williams. The Brands Hatch weekend was only the fourth meeting of the new series.
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