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By EwanM
#134341
He is apparently "seriously injured" according to Autosport. No other news has been released. :(
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By EwanM
#134355
Having sky plussed the race and the wtcc, I just rewatched the incident.

As the cars dice up into Westfield bend, Jack Clarke appears to run slightly wide and ploughs straight off the circuit and into the barrier. Unfortunately the wheel which struck the wall comes careering back onto the circuit, bouncing and at pace and strikes Henry Surtees straight on the helmet. So much so the visor comes up. Surtees' car then carries on down the circuit going straight off into the wall.
Shades of Tom Pyrce in a way and a reminder of how dangerous motorsport can be sometimes. I realise the FIA have done alot in recent years to stop wheels from becoming detached, but you cannot always be 100% safe. It is worrying because we still see such accidents happen, remember Kubica and Vettel's smash in Australia?

Surely this must also raise questions about the safety of the GP circuit at Brands for single seaters. The widest run off area around the entire circuit is on the pit straight!

After seeing it again I am very worried for the driver, hopefully we have good news tonight.
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By EwanM
#134378
Nothing has been made official yet, and I do hope this information is untrue, but by some of the comments made on fellow F2 driver Carlos Laconelli's twitter and on certain sites, it would seem that Henry Surtees has passed away.

Again this hasn't been confirmed and may be purely internet speculation.

https://twitter.com/Carlosiaconelli
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By EwanM
#134379
It has been confirmed that Henry Surtees has died.
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By EwanM
#134380
Henry Surtees dies after F2 crash

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, July 19th 2009, 20:09 GMT

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 Carin, taking one victory and one podium.

AUTOSPORT sends its sincere condolences to Henry's family and friends.
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By texasmr2
#134385
OMG!!! :(

A moment of prayer and silence from me.
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By Denthúl
#134389
Oh dear. Rest in peace, Henry. :(

My condolences to the Surtees family. It will be a hard time for them. This is tragic news. :(
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By scotty
#134398
Wow, that is a stark reminder of what can happen in motorsport. RIP. :(

I saw the accident and there appeared to be NO wheel tethers present. WTF?
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By cap-dude
#134400
I'm sure they have wheel teathers. But no doubt there will be an investigation, and more than likely, some knee-jerk reactions from the FIA.

It's an awful thing, whenever something like this happens.
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