Henry Surtees
| Henry Surtees | |
|---|---|
Henry John Surtees (18 February 1991 – 19 July 2009) was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees. He died during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch when he was struck by a wheel which came off another car which had spun into a wall.
Career
Formula BMW UK
Surtees finished his debut season in the championship 7th in the overall points standings, and second in the Rookie Cup. During a season in which the second half was dominated by fellow rookie
Formula Renault
After two races in 2007, Surtees moved up full-time to the
Formula Three
Surtees competed in one race meeting during the
Formula Two
Surtees signed up to the revived
Death
At Brands Hatch on 19 July 2009, during a Formula Two race, Surtees was hit on the head by a wheel from the car of Jack Clarke after Clarke spun into the wall exiting Westfield Bend. The wheel broke its tether and bounced back across the track into the following group of cars and collided with Surtees's helmet.[4][5] The mass of the wheel assembly hitting his head was 29 kilograms (64 lb), and given that his car was travelling at 161 kilometres per hour (100 mph) at the time the wheel struck, the impact yielded approximately 30,000 joules of kinetic energy.[6] The car continued straight ahead into the barrier on the approach to Sheene Curve, also losing a wheel, and came to rest at the end of the curve with its remaining rear wheel still spinning and the engine at its RPM limiter. This indicated that Surtees had lost consciousness, with his foot still pressing the accelerator.
Surtees was extricated from the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre, where he was stabilized before being transferred to the Royal London Hospital. He was pronounced brain dead later that day.[7] He was 18 years old. Surtees's death was attributed to severe head injuries, inflicted by colliding with Clarke's wheel, rather than the subsequent crash with the barriers.[8] His parents elected to donate his organs for transplant, a decision which was credited with saving five lives.[9] Surtees' funeral took place on 30 July at Worth Abbey, near Turners Hill, West Sussex.[10]
Surtees was buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Lingfield, Surrey; in 2017, his father John was buried next to him.
Legacy
In June 2010, a group of Surtees's school friends swam the English Channel in stints to raise money for charity in his memory. A cafe at his former school was also named The Pit Stop in memory of him.
Additional wheel tethers
Surtees' death along with an increasing number of accidents where wheels were torn off their mountings led to the number of wheel tethers being doubled to two per wheel for the 2011 Formula One World Championship season.[11]
Halo cockpit protection
The FIA introduced a mandatory titanium-carbon fibre
Henry Surtees Award
In 2010, the Henry Surtees Award was launched, to be awarded annually for the most outstanding performance by a rising motor racer. Its first winner was
Henry Surtees Foundation
Also in 2010,[17] the Henry Surtees Foundation was founded as a charitable organisation by his father John, to assist victims of accidental brain injuries and to promote safety in driving and motorsport.[9][18]
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Ginetta Junior Championship | N/A | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 236 | 3rd |
| 2007 | Formula BMW ADAC | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 29th |
| Formula BMW UK | Carlin Motorsport
|
18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 491 | 6th | |
| Formula Renault 2.0 UK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 22nd | ||
| Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 13th | ||
| 2008 | British F3 National Class
|
Carlin Motorsport
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 11th |
| Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup | Manor Competition | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
Formula Renault 2.0 UK
|
20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 203 | 12th | ||
| Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 113 | 2nd | ||
| 2009 | FIA Formula Two Championship
|
MotorSport Vision | 8* | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 14th |
Source:[19]
| |||||||||
† As Surtees was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Surtees died during round eight of the sixteen-round series.
Complete FIA Formula Two Championship results
(key) (races in bold indicate pole position) (races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | VAL 1 7 |
VAL 2 12 |
BRN 1 Ret |
BRN 2 Ret |
SPA 1 15 |
SPA 2 Ret |
BRH 1 3 |
BRH 2 Ret |
DON 1 |
DON 2 |
OSC 1 |
OSC 2 |
IMO
1 |
IMO
2 |
CAT
1 |
CAT
2 |
14th | 8 |
Source:[20]
| ||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Silverstone (Ntnl), 30/31 Aug 2008". Racing Steps Foundation. 31 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ^ "Carlin rookies shine at Donington". crash.net. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ^ "Surtees name returns to Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. 2 January 2009. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
- ^ Cary, Tom (20 July 2009). "Henry Surtees's death shakes motorsport world". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
- ^ "F2 bosses to probe Surtees tragedy". thisissussex.co.uk. Kent and Sussex Courier. 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
- ^ English, Steven; Glendenning, Mark (31 December 2009). "Loved and lost: Henry Surtees 1991-2009; Tribute by John Surtees". Autosport. Vol. 198, no. 13. pp. 42–43.
People talked about Felipe Massa's accident in Hungary the following week. He had 0.8 kg hit him, Henry had 29 kg.
- ^ "Surtees's son killed in race crash". BBC News. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
- ^
Noble, Jonathan (19 July 2009). "Henry Surtees dies after F2 crash". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
- ^ a b "Obituary: John Surtees". Sunday Times Driving. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Funeral for racing driver Surtees". BBC News. BBC. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- ^ Gent, James (28 July 2010). "Extra wheel tether to be added for 2011". Autosport.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ "All you need to know about Halo". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (7 February 2018), F1 Explained: The Halo, archived from the original on 12 December 2021, retrieved 7 March 2018
- ^ Cooper, Adam. "Six key myths about F1's halo cockpit protection device busted". Autosport.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Incredible pictures capture the moment halo device saves Formula One driver's life". NewsComAu. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ MarketScreener. "Renault : Much-maligned halo may have saved Leclerc's life after horror crash with Alonso | MarketScreener". Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "HENRY SURTEES FOUNDATION - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Henry Surtees Foundation". henrysurteesfoundation.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Henry Surtees". Driver Database. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Henry Surtees". Motor Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
External links
- Henry Surtees career summary at DriverDB.com