Henry Surtees, 18-Year-Old Driver, Dies After Being Struck in Head by Tire

Henry Surtees, son of 1964 Formula One champion John Surtees, died Sunday after being hit in the head by a bouncing wheel and tire during an F2 race. Even after watching the video, it seems too outrageous to believe.

With the cars going at approximately 140 mph, driver Jack Clarke spun into the wall and his tire flew off. Surtees was knocked unconscious by the severe blow, causing his car to crash into a barrier at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, south of London. The race was red-flagged while Surtees was removed from the scene. He was then airlifted to Royal London hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

More From Bleacher Report: Accident Raises Safety Questions

Surtees finished third in Saturday's opening race for his first F2 podium finish. Now he's gone before his 20th birthday following one of the most freakish accidents in the history of motorsports. His 75-year-old father is the only man to win world championships on both two and four wheels, having claimed seven motorcycle world titles before winning the F1 title with Ferrari.

Formula Two chief executive Jonathan Palmer expressed his "great sadness" after hearing of the news. "An accident like this obviously raises high levels of concern," he said.

As James Broomhead points out at Bleacher Report, this is the second time that an errant tire has been a major hazard. The first incident also involved Clarke and Surtees at an earlier event.

There are sure to be questions in the aftermath of this tragedy, especially considering the Formula Two feeder series is in its inaugural season. If the series is to have a long-term future, you can bet they'll need to investigate better wheel tethering and what exactly went wrong here.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

7-20-2009 @ 6:26AM

artorius317 said...

WOW!!!!

7-20-2009 @ 1:50PM

sutongott said...

Dudley Haas: I hope that one day you are able to fully recover from you concusion.

7-20-2009 @ 7:08AM

Kelly said...

I think the video was edited in very poor taste with a tire used as the segue. wow!

Nicoblue said...

very sad.......tragic to say the least. Rest in peace.

7-20-2009 @ 7:12AM

ffranck9876 said...

What a terrible shame. I feel for dad and the whole family. Can't imagine what I'd do if my 18-year old went out one day and never came back.

7-20-2009 @ 7:23AM

Kips Hayes said...

This is about as freaky as it gets in racing. My consolences to Mr. Surtees and his family.

7-20-2009 @ 7:43AM

John F.C. Taylor said...

How strange that this should involve a driver named Clark[e]. I remember seeing races where it was always Jim Clark and John Surtees racing against each other.

7-20-2009 @ 7:52AM

James said...

Traggic and i feel sorry for his Family. But I am not Surprised This Kind of Racing Vehicles Are actually Designed to do just what This One did, Disentergrate On Impact so all the force of the Impact is not Absorbed By The Driver, but they forgot one little Thing The other Drivers On the track Having to try to avoid all the Debries They Need to rethink how they can stop the Debries from Hitting Others when it all comes off the car.They say NASCAR is Unsafe but I think the Open Wheel Cars are 100 Times More Dangerous Maybe not for The Driver of the car that Wrecks but for the Other Cars and the Spectators

7-20-2009 @ 10:45AM

yogibear619fl said...

D e b r i s...just so you know.

7-20-2009 @ 4:42PM

Jim said...

The IRL has a way of fastening the tires to the chassis, so that when they do get knocked loose, they won't come off the car. This was done after an errant wheel went waaaaaay up in the stands at the Indy 500 several years ago and killed a spectator. Now they just flop around if knocked off their axle.

7-21-2009 @ 8:54AM

tracey2teach said...

These cars are not designed for the wheels to come off. In Formula 1 and Indy Car, tethers are used to prevent this kind of thing happening. They could have been used on these cars, too. But someone might have decided that the cost was too high. The death of a young man is the real cost. That is definitely too high. But auto racing safety has always been paid for in blood, not dollares, and this will never change.

7-20-2009 @ 7:59AM

kent05r said...

Sorry for the loss of your son. I can't imagin the feeling. God Speed be with you in you healing.

7-20-2009 @ 8:07AM

Bonnie Blue said...

Psalm 23, of David...
My the Lord God be with this family during this tragedy, and all of his loved ones be in remembrance of only the best times of this young man's life. Bless them,keep them, and Lord please ease there sufferings and move them spiritually to a place they can think of their loved one with fond memories. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

7-20-2009 @ 8:25AM

pjchilds said...

Racing is a dangerous sport, but wheel tethering is definitely the way to go in order to help avoid another senseless death or injury. For some years now Indy Cars have effectively been using tethers to hold their wheels on and they are much faster and heavier than F2 cars. NASCAR began using tethers to retain hoods and deck lids for a few years as well.

7-20-2009 @ 8:30AM

mlwood8829 said...

Very tragic. My heart goes out to his family. Everyone should remember to cherish the life of your loved ones because you never know when something like this can happen.

7-20-2009 @ 8:46AM

Lonnie JR said...

May he Rest In Peace , God bless his family

7-20-2009 @ 8:59AM

Suzy said...

Tires coming off is a known risk. I am from Indianapolis and the tires on Indy cars have been fastened to the cars by tethers to prevent just this kind of accident. In the 1970's, a crowd member was killed by a tire coming off a car at Indy. This is what prompted the change. How could they be racing without such a cheap and simple safety measure!

7-20-2009 @ 9:09AM

jimbarry1946 said...

We must immediately ban everything with tires. That way this tragic accident will never be repeated. Racing is dangerous, but people get killed on the highways all the time.