Motor sport fans are in mourning for a British racing driver who died after being struck by flying debris while racing at 200mph.
Justin Wilson, from Sheffield, was in a coma for 24 hours after sustaining devastating head injuries at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania on Sunday. Julia, his wife, was flown by private jet from the couple’s home in Colorado to be at his bedside. His death was announced yesterday.
A statement from his family paid tribute to “a loving father and devoted husband, as well as a highly competitive racing driver who was respected by his peers”.
At 37, Wilson, the father of two daughters, was in the twilight of his IndyCar career. Without a full-time drive this year, he helped out Andretti Autosport for two races and performed so well that he was asked to compete in the final five rounds of the championship. The race on Sunday was the penultimate race of the season. Two weeks ago, Wilson gave an interview to an American parenting website about his loving relationship with his daughters Jane, 7, and Jessica, 5 as well as the risks posed by racing.
“It makes you think,” he said. “I don’t change the decisions I make. I pride myself on the decisions I make in the race car. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t. You have to be prepared. Racing is dangerous, we know that, but it something you learn to live with and try to calculate the risk.”
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Wilson raced for the Minardi and Jaguar teams in F1 in 2003 and news of his death shocked the sport. Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion and a contemporary in karting, tweeted: “The motorsport world comes 2 a standstill once again. @justin_wilson was a great person & racing driver.”
Lewis Hamilton, the world champion, added: “I am so devastated to hear of another passing of a great man and driver. I had met Justin Wilson a few times growing up and he was the ultimate gentleman.”