MOTORSPORT: John Surtees' son dies after horrific crash

Flying wheel claims a legend's teenage son
The teenage son of the only man to have won motor racing world championships on two wheels and four, John Surtees, has been killed in an horrendous accident at Britain's Brands Hatch circuit.

Henry Surtees, the 18-year-old son of the 1964 Formula 1 and multiple motorcycle world champion, was hit by a flying tyre during a Formula 2 race and crashed heavily into a barrier.

Surtees was treated at the circuit medical centre and flown to Royal London Hospital, where he died.

Autosport.com has reported that the young Surtees 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," Autosport.com reported.

"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 Carlin, taking one victory and one podium."

Big spin costs Ricciardo another British F3 win
The young Australian leading the British Formula Three Championship, Daniel Ricciardo, was the fastest driver again in the latest round at the Donnington Park circuit but was denied another victory and saw his championship lead almost halved.

Dutch rival Renger van der Zande was penalised 25 seconds in the second race for sending the 20-year-old Perth racer into a 720-degree spin.

Ricciardo wound up fifth in that race but was third in the earlier race overnight, recovering from a bad start that dropped him to seventh.

"I had too much wheelspin at the start and I fell back a couple of positions," Ricciardo said. "Then I tried to make them up a bit too quickly and that ended up costing me a couple more positions.

"A safety car came out and that helped me a bit. My car (a Volkswagen-engined Dallara fielded by Carlin Motorsport for Ricciardo under the Red Bull junior driver development scheme) was really good and I got back to third.

"Third was all I could do in the end."

Austrian Walter Grubmuller won the first race last night and reigning British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd notched his first F3 victory in the later wet race for the T-Sport team, coming from 10th at the start.

Grubmuller's Hi-Tech teammate van der Zande caused Ricciardo to have a massive spin at Coppice corner that dropped the Australian to a frustrated sixth, which became fifth when the Dutchman was hit with the 25-second penalty after the race.

After 12 races, including three wins, Ricciardo has 141 points while Grubmuller -- who was third in the second race at Brands Hatch, behind Boyd's Brazilian teammate Adriano Buzaid -- is now on 128 and van der Zande 100.

Dane bites back
Triple Eight Race Engineering/Team Vodafone chief Roland Dane has taken exception to something in our column at the end of last week, and disagreed with us on another matter at the end of that previous column where we queried why ticket prices for next April's V8 Supercar Championship event at Hamilton, New Zealand, are being slashed if the two events there so far have been full houses.

Here is Dane's first point:
"Firstly, I really don't appreciate being labelled as a 'foreign invader'. I am a full-time Australian resident with substantial investments in this country.

"As I think I may have pointed out before, my paternal grandfather was an Australian and was born in Adelaide in 1896, my parents met here in the 1950s, my brother (born here and an Australian) has been a doctor in the NT for 30 years.

"Meanwhile, many Australians have competed in national motorsport with success in Europe for decades without having to tolerate your type of comment.

"I do not sit overseas as a team owner -- I am in fact more 'hands on' with Triple Eight than any of my Australian fellow team owners.

"My great grandfather landed in South Australia in 1876 -- your own ancestors may have beaten him, but, I would respectfully suggest, not by enough to give you the right to label anyone not born here as a 'foreign invader'."

Author's response: I accept Dane's point, and especially the distinction he makes between himself and, without naming them, Tom Walkinshaw and David Richards. Yes, it was a term we had used before in relation to all three and, yes, Dane had made (gentler) contact over it previously. It was something I had thought about several times since, particularly remembering that Alan Moffat too had come to Australia from overseas, settled here and was embraced by the Australian motorsport public (well, at least those of the Ford persuasion!). Happy to acknowledge Dane as an Aussie henceforth.

Here is his second point:
"It's a shame to see you talking down Hamilton and inferring that the same could happen with Townsville here. The promoters in NZ are responding to the very difficult economic conditions prevailing over there -- much more difficult and more sustained than anything we've seen in Australia to date in this downturn -- and all credit to them.

"At a time when corporate activity, in particular at sporting events around the world, has been drastically reduced (with F1 corporate hospitality generally reckoned to be off by some 50 per cent in the first half of this year, for instance), the Hamilton promoters can see that they will need to ensure that GA attendances hold up in order to protect their revenue streams.

"Their actions strike me as a good response to the market conditions in NZ.

"Meanwhile, let's give Townville the full credit it deserves for laying on a great event without looking to talk that success down without any foundation for doing so.

"The premier national motorsport category in Australia is not perfect, but it's far, far healthier than any equivalent anywhere in the world with the possible exception of NASCAR -- and I'd even argue that if you relate both categories to population size and GDP."

Author's response: I've had a couple of discussions with Dane now, mostly by email, and greatly respect his views. Indeed, I've written previously to the effect that I cannot think of anyone in V8 Supercar racing who makes his arguments more eloquently and coherently. I disagree that I was 'talking down' Hamilton.

It is reasonable, even in an economic downturn more severe than most of us can remember, to wonder why ticket prices would need to be cut, indeed slashed, in light of the attendances at the two Hamilton events to date -- and especially why that needs to be done nine months out from the next event there.

Incidentally, the link to the NZ press clipping on which I was commenting is, again, here.

I acknowledge, and have done so here, the success of the first Townsville V8 Supercar event and hope it continues for many years. While I often argue here against temporary circuits and in favour of permanent facilities that can be used for motorsport and other motoring activities year-long, there is no doubt the Townsville event went very well, indeed brilliantly, and was very well received in North Queensland.

I have strongly advocated taking "the show" to such regional areas that are often denied major sport. Perhaps it was cynicism, but we have seen many things -- in V8 Supercars and other areas/forms of motor sport -- begin with overwhelming enthusiasm which has progressively, and sometimes quite quickly, eroded.

One recent case was the enthusiasm of the parties that went into the arrangement for the Nissan safety and course car -- a deal that fell apart four rounds into what was to have been a two-year (28 round?) deal.

Yes, V8 Supercars seems to be holding up well in tough times, and indeed better than most if not all other forms of motorsport. But other than that Dane and I might have to agree to disagree on his second point, but certainly his opinions are welcomed and respected.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi.