Henry Surtees died from head injuries in F2 race accident (video)

July 20, 2009

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Henry Surtees, the son of 1964 Formula 1 world champion John Surtees, has died after being struck in the head during a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch (in Kent, England) on Sunday.

During the second of the weekend's races, the 18-year-old was was knocked unconscious after being hit by a tire from the car of Jack Clarke, who had spun into the wall exiting Westfield Bend.

Surtrees' 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. Then, he was taken to the track's medical centre, before being airlifted to the Royal London hospital, where was later pronounced dead.

Surtees, who finished third in Saturday's opening race for his first F2 podium finish, had starred in F3 last year. 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, Henry Surtees 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.

See: video:

- tribute video: Henry Surtees, 8/2/91 - 19/7/09
- accident on Sunday, 19 July 2009.