The Crash That Changed Racing Forever - Henry Surtees
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2023
- This is the true story of how the tragic fatality of one of motorsport's most promising talents changed professional racing forever, and how his legacy helped save countless lives.
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Henry Surtees was an up and coming 18 year old British racing driver.
Despite his age, had racked up an impressive resume, with his first car series being the Ginetta GT Juniors in 2006, after several seasons in Karts. From here, he went on to compete in progressively more powerful and prestigious series over the years. He showed talent and willingness to learn right off the bat, and was known for his impressive dedication to the sport.
His father, John, put it perfectly though. "Most importantly he was a nice person and a loving son".
Speaking of his father, it's worth noting henry was genetically built to be an absolute track weapon, since his dad is John Surtees. Surtees is a racing legend, and the only person to become a world champion on both 2 and 4 wheels. He managed to amass 38 grand prix wins and 6 TT wins over his extensive racing career.
After henry demonstrated his impressive racing abilities, he signed up for the Formula 2 championship so that he could compete in the 2009 season.
Driving as car number 7, he managed to score his first podium, in the first of two races at Brands Hatch, on Saturday, the 18th of July 2009. Sadly, despite a great start to the series, this podium would end up being his last. The following race, also at Brands Hatch, is where disaster struck in a freak accident which would go on to change formula motorsport forever.
On the next day, the drivers lined up for their second race of the weekend.
24 F2 Cars, all fitted with 1.8 litre audi turbos, capable of putting out around 450 horsepower, eagerly anticipated their next opportunity to shine.
Henry qualified eighth, and was putting in a good run, following closely behind Jolyon palmer, who was racing in number 3.
Jack Clarke, in number 11, was ahead of them entering into the Westfield bend. On the exit, he didn't make it round and spun off, smacking into the wall.
At this sort of Speed, Palmer's crash was initially seen as a fairly routine.
The Formula 2 cars are built to match the FIA's F1 safety standards of 2005, so a scrape like this wasn't too concerning. Additionally, the head protection fitted to the cars conformed with 2009 F1 standards.
What wasn't expected, however, was that Jack Clarke's rear left wheel would come off, headed for the straight, after his car bounced off the wall.
This shouldn't have happened. Williams, who manufactured the chassis', incorporated roadwheel tethers, which are designed to stop wheels from coming loose, and bouncing around dangerously. Sadly, safety measures aren't always 100% fool proof, and Clarke's wheel came free, doing
exactly what engineers were trying to prevent.
The wheel bounced straight into the middle of the Derek Minter straight.
This is when disaster struck. Surtees had successfully exited the Westfield bend, but at exactly the wrong time. Clarke's wheel smashed him straight in the head, knocking him unconscious. Surtees sustained a massive blow - with a rough estimate of 29kg directly hitting his head at around 100 miles an hour, it's safe to say a helmet and slightly raised cockpit did little to prevent this.
Henry's car drove down the Derek Minter straight at a considerable speed and ploughed straight into the wall past the next turn.
Footage Credits + Sources:
• Henry Surtees funeral
• Video
oversteer48.com/brands-hatch-...
www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/...
/ henrysurteesfoundation
www.autosport.com/general/new...
www.theguardian.com/sport/200...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_S... - Розваги
Both Surtees were absolute legends and what an amazing family .
I have to disagree there. John Surtees as a world champion on both two and four wheels was the legend.
@@johntyrer8418 I really don't think that needed saying .smh
I remember the incredible 1966 season with Surtees and Rindt chasing Brabham. John Surtees was always a classy man.
@@johntyrer8418 achieved so much with that comment didn’t you, smart arse
I'm just glad he survived. When does he race again?
The only assurances anyone can get from this tragic fatality is that Henry saw nothing except the tire, felt nothing except a small and painless thump on the helmet, and was hopefully in a dream-like comatose state until his breathing stopped eventually and he let go. This is absolutely the way I would want to go...right in the middle of doing something I loved, painless and quick without any prior knowledge of what happened. Hopefully in his dreamstate, he continued the race and won straight onwards to the next life.
Probably
Then he was still pressing on the gas all the way into heaven.
I doubt he even saw the tire
@@plane_guy6051 Maybe a split second glimpse the moment it came into his periphery
What a ridiculous made up story to provide yourself with some comfort.
I knew of the incident, but hearing the full story was a real tear jerker. RIP John and Henry you’ll both be missed and your legacies are known
I was at Brands Hatch that day in 2009. I was 11 years old and inside the Abarth racing booth above the start/finish straight. My memory of the event isn't the best due to my young age and the amount of time that has passed, but I do remember this. One moment the race was in full swing, commentator talking away and such, then the next moment, this pure silence came over the track. The type of silence that if you've been around racing, you know can't be good. Nobody knew what had happened as at first they didn't show any replays of the accident on the trackside screens out of respect for Henry. Once they announced he was being airlifted to hospital we assumed the worst. Terrible loss to motorsport. I met John the year after in 2010 at a kart racing trophy presentation, where he presented me with my championship trophy, and I remember there was a special Henry Surtees trophy which he presented to one of the drivers. He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
bros acting like he is apart of history💀💀💀
@@ps4boi10dx Well, I wasn't really a part of it, I merely witnessed it. A crash like that is something you never forget :/
@@ps4boi10dxyou have to be a child, they said their story and how they were there for the event and met the father of the deceased. No need for you to be a condescending bastard. Grow up dude, events like deaths during a race stick with all the people that were there.
@@tomdavies6256they're definitely just a child acting out and thinking they're cool. Like you said being there for a death during a race sticks around with you forever. I'm glad you told your story, it's nice to know his father was still that involved only a year after!
@@djstuc -- He spelled it correctly, unlike whatever's going through your thick troll skull
For anyone who saw the loose wheel incident at the Indy 500 this year, it was not a tether failure but a failure of a component within the wheel hub (outboard of the tether mounting point). That part has been redesigned and is required to be upgraded on all competitors in the series.
They got lucky at this year's 500. That could have been so much worse
That wheel flew over the fence right in front of me. I instantly know it wouldn’t hit me or my family but I was certain people 50 to my right would be killed since it flew like a missile through the air.
I’m glad his father took a proactive approach to the sport via increased engineering like the halo. Thoughts and prayers do nothing unless they are followed up with action. Such a class act. Reminds me a lot of Niki Lauda.
I agree! Thoughts, prayers, wishes and dreams are useless alone. Action is what matters. By the way, by sheer coincidence, I saw Rush for the first time last night. Great movie!
Thoughts and prayers is the air guitar of helping
@@quintonsm2616 Oh hell!!!! I'm stealing that!! One day you just might hear that in a song. Too late! I just copyrighted it. Baaa hahaha!
@@danroberts9050 get in line, I stole it from someone else
@@quintonsm2616 Check and see if they stole it from someone else too. I have every plan of being the last thief on this one! 😂🤣😂
Surtees, Wheldon, Bianchi, de Villota... gone but not forgotten
Tom Pryce?
@@antoniogardelli7991 back then there was a big lack of safety measures not only hear protection
@@antoniogardelli7991there are dozens of deaths in the last that would be avoided with modern halo. We probably wouldn't be able to even name them all.
Justin Wilson
@@Tutel0093so sad they haven't idea of protection like today HALO and areoscreen
Very sad. You’ve treated this post w respect and dignity. I just subscribed
Thank you Alex, it was definitely a bit daunting covering a crash of this nature
However, during the time Jules Bianchi, Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson "had to pass" as well before that head protection was completed... Such a thing would have saved their lives as well.
It's debatable if Wilson would have survived since it was a small piece of carbon fiber, not a bit piece like a wheel or even a vehicle. The Aeroscreen, which IndyCar actually uses, definitely would have saved him though.
I'm not sure about Jules, his head never hit the tele-handler, it was the sudden stop that did the damage. But regardless, you are correct. Too many people were hurt or killed before change was made. Fillipi Masa and Christiano Di Matto are two who had career ending injuries that could have been prevented.
@@stephenbritton9297masa’s injury wouldn’t have been saved by the halo as it was a small spring that hit his head truthfully
Stop spreading the false narrative. Halo would not have saved Jules. He didnt die of impact to his head but everything else but his brain coming to a sudden stop. His brain smashed in the front of his skull, an outcome that would've been the same with the halo as well.
@@c3gfboy7with a sheer luck it could have saved him, if the part had hit the halo colum instead. But that'd been simply luck
Very insightful video on a difficult subject, Henry definitely was one of the many souls that were lost way too young, may he rest in peace.
I know hindsight is always 20/20, and it's easy to point fingers, but it is kinda mind-boggling that in the wake of the dark weekend of Imola in 1994, the eminent danger of open cockpit single-seaters getting hit by heavy objects wasn't one of the many points addressed. Both Ratzenberger and Senna partially died due to getting hit in the head by heavy car parts after crashing. But it took another 20+ years and too fatalities in Surtees and Bianchi and other freak accidents like Massa 2009 until it finally got addressed. And it seems like the Halo came just in time. It's eery to think that without it, we might have lost LeClerc, Grosjean, Hamilton and Zhou in the span of just 4 years.
Ratzenberger only hit his head on the concrete wall because his neck was already broken, if he had a hans device he'd have jumped out of the car probably.
But yeah Sennas neck was broken by the wheel hitting him in the face at the same time the piece of suspension penetrated his visor and skull.
In many ways Roman Grosjean was the winner on that day. It wasn't just the Halo that saved him God had to be on his side to walk out of those flames. That was incredible and terrifying.
@@JohnLawley24vI'm not sure either of those two suffered broken necks but basal skull fractures which are arguably worse
@@matthewthomas2546Ratzenberger suffered a broken neck, Basal Skull fracture and a ruptured aorta. Just one of those would have killed him. RIP legend
@@danielleclare2938 God, and most of the major driver and car safety technology upgrades introduced in the previous 50 years.
(Seriously, just about the only major car safety item that *wasn't* involved in keeping Grosjean on this mortal coil was wheel tethers.)
I’ve seen many horrific crashes in my lifetime and very, very few deaths. My appreciation for the advances in the safety of these cars cannot be understated, and my grief for those who were lost before them is heavy. That photo of his empty car is haunting. He became a hero in a totally unexpected way in death and that’s pretty badass.
Henry had a short carreer and a short life. But he died doing what he loved, and his passing helped saving a lot of other lifes.
so Tragic and wholeheartedly agree with Dave's comment below “Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity. That is the definition of a legacy.”
RIP, Henry
i prefer the gladiator version.
Seeing all the driver lined up behind number 7 makes me tear up. There’s something about community in a shared interest that brings out the best in people when times grow dark.
One of your best videos yet blags! you are really climbing in the algorithm, I wish you luck with youtube. RIP Henry Surtees.
I was at that race at Brands and I think we knew the moment it happened it was nasty albeit we didn’t think it was fatal. I met Henry at testing some months before at Silverstone and he was a lovely young man. RIP Henry.
I knew him personally through racing yrs ago, he was s tough customer to beat, hes such a great guy as well as his father john, love them and miss them both.
I used to be a F1 fan but a long illness I missed out on a couple of seasons , I wondered why these bars were in place , very sorry to hear of his loss .
Henry you live on in 5 saved lives. EVERYBODY carry an organ donation card, we never know when our time will come but we can help others when we are gone.
Flying wheels are one of the most dangerous aspect of motorsports for drivers, spectators, and pit crew members. There are numerous incidents of people being killed by fly away wheels. In this year's Indianapolis 500 a tire flew off and up into the area of the grandstands, but luckily missed all the spectators, but significantly damaging a parked car behind the stands.
That was horrifying....and it was an act of God nobody got hurt.
Absolutely a sad event. Thanks for sharing this with us! 🤝
He’s saved multiple life’s on the track and 5 life’s unrelated to the track… that’s amazing!!! ❤❤
This was a terrific accident and it’s sad that he passed away RIP. But after he passed away it’s good to see how they made improvements to the cars and after he tragically died he still continues to save live. RIP. You want be forgotten legend, fly high buddy rest in peace.
Great video showing people that made a real difference in helping others. This is someone to look up to, and the best example of action, not just words.
Very professionally presented.
As we racers push the limits of ourselves and machinery, tragically some safety measures are born of fatal incidents. Thank you to the family for helping others through organ donation. Both Henry and Johns legacy will live on
I'm not a massive follower of motorsport so hadn't heard much of this beyond peripheral information. Really nicely made and respectful piece.
Absolutely beautiful, wonderful and kind people. RIP, I hope you're up there racing together now ❤
One of your first subscribers here. Love your video style and seeing your channel blow up and get the exposure it deserves
Keep it up man💪💪
Thank you! Will do!
I remember when they helped my brother and I went we raced Karts in the UK, my dad was star struck. RIP to both 🙏
Great presentation. It’s nice to see someone treat the lethal risk in auto racing seriously, and not something that fans are entitled to.
I was at Brands that day with a friend to watch the WTCC, and I'll never forget that day as long as I live. Such a tragic loss, especially when you consider that if Surtees' was just a few tenths of a second faster or slower the tyre would've hit the bodywork and not his head.
Fast forward to when F1 was introducing the halo, and when F1 fans were complaining that it ruined the look of the cars, I was one of those who could definitely see the benefit and the massive improvement in safety as a result of having them. Sure, they don't make the cars look pretty, but if they save lives then they are totally worth it. And besides, we're all used to them now. If the F2 cars back in '09 had the halo, he would almost certainly have survived that accident, and who knows what great things he could have gone on to achieve.
Rest in peace, Henry - safe in the knowledge that the technology introduced as a result of what happened to you, and later to Jules Bianchi, has already saved lives.
Still not used to the halo. They should have just banned open cockpits if they wanted to do that.
Racing is pretty boring nowadays anyway, though.
Modern safety from the FIA, IndyCar & NASCAR blows my mind today we see some huge crashes and drivers now thankfully more often than not walk away, amazing how far we have come in the last 30 years
Talking about Loose-Wheel Safety Measures: Even Henry's rear left wheel came off from this even smaller accident and it ALSO went to the track
Wow, what an insightful video. Thank you for shedding light on this :(
Great Video. Thank you RIP to 2 legends.
Quality content! Love how you handle these topics
Justin Wilson was also a major part of making these safety upgrades after he was killed my the nose cone of another wrecked car at Pocono Raceway in the Indycar series in 2015. It was a very similar situation.
Love watching your videos, you have perfect voice for this type of content and their topics are very interesting. Greetings from Poland.
Thanks for making this video. I didn't know that's why the halo was put on cars. I did realize it was for safety but it seemed extreme. Now, I completely understand AND agree. Damn this was so crazy. Sad that it usually takes a death, in many aspects in life, for a major change to happen.
Rest In Peace, Henry Surtees!
Roman Grojean would be the first to applaud the halo.
@@ims.MichaelJames Leclerc, Spa, 2018.
Man this is the first time I'm seeing this channel, you sound really sad and emotional man, great video and RIP henry, hare to see pure talent being taken away from us so soon
Thank you! Yeah this one was notably sad to write on, it's the first crash that really got to me
Use the algorithm while it lasts brother. You’re gonna be big bro
Good video. Its sad this happened but the outcome of this tragedy has helped others survive. RIP Henry
It's worth noting that when Henry's car comes to a stand, the left rear wheel is also missing from a similar contact with barrier. Unfortunately what had currently been provided clearly wasn't up to the task.
I noticed that as well. Clearly did not work.
1 second futher up or down the track and the tire would have missed him. Tragically unlucky. RIP Henry and John Surtees.
I absolutely love your content. I have confidence you will become really successful on this platform. 👍
Impactful. Every death in the modern era has led to profound change. I’d say Dale Earnhardt’s stick out as the most profound. All major racing series including feeders mandating the HANS device and soft walls, safer barriers, etc
DE Sr detested and mocked the HANS. Karma is more than just 5 letters put together.
@@LathropLdST he said he’d rather die instantly in a bad crash than wear “that damn noose” because he thought it restricted his head movement too much to drive effectively and that it would get him caught in his seatbelts if he needed to escape a fire.
hindsight is 20/20. dale sr. was a driving legend but even the best among us can make bad choices.
Such a freak event. RIP Henry xxx
Great video man, i learned something today. Wrong place wrong time
Super-informative! Great video! RIP
Its such a shame that lives have to be inadvertently sacrificed to make great advancements in safety when it comes to motorsport. Rest in peace Henry, John, and all other drivers, personnel, and spectators that have lost their lives as a result of unfortunate racing incidents.
Wow amazing video!
¡Gracias!
Its good that the halo was implemented but the accident was in 2008 and it took 10 whole years to implement the halo, if they hadnt taken so long we would still have Jules Bianchi with us😢
Jules wouldn't have been saved by the halo
No, we wouldn't. Hit in the head didn't kill him.
Maria's accident was the main genesis of seriously implementing the Halo.
The halo and aeroscreen weren't connected to Surtees' accident. The accident put the focus on the wheel tethers.
@@geckowizard It did both. The concept of the halo was being pushed around that time and the Surtees' accident was exactly the type of accident that the halo was designed to protect against. It made it a lot harder to argue against the halo when the Surtees' accident happened.
I race Sprint Cars and was not aware of this! Bless Both Dad and Son.
Absolute legend his greatness was cut short. The halo was mostly introduced after the death of Max Bianci at Susuka, but F1 had a bad reputation of waiting for things to happen before they act. If the halo was brought in after this horrific accident then Bainci would still be with us. Great report 👏
If he was still with us, he would be saying, "at least get my name right". RIP Jules Bianchi.
No words to explain my feelings.
Rest in peace Henry surtees and John legends never die
A tragic story, but his death wasn't in vain, out of it the halo was fitted and made mandatory. It's a terrible tragedy the young talented driver's life was taken, but because of it, other tragic accidents were undoubtably prevented.
I've never seen this covered. It was a very sad accident. Thanks.
Sensitively and respectively presented video of a tragic event, which subsequently saved others.
Great video mate you deserve a lot more subs than you have. very informative.
cheers mate
R.I.P. Henry and John Surtees.
Great video.
really nice video.
Great video. RIP
Its good to hear that his family got some sort of closure in being able to help countless lives
Setting the playback speed to 1.25 helps things move along.
Bless
As if an 11 minute video is excruciating to watch...🤣
What a tragedy, that is literally almost impossible odds to happen.
Why I’m glad All open wheel leagues have halos or windscreens to protect the drivers .
So they did have wheel tethers? I remember a comment from Mercedes' motorsports boss at the time, Norbert Haug, which infuriated me even then, but this makes it even worse. He said this couldn't happen in F1 because of the wheel tethers. So it turns out he was not only insensitive but also clueless. Nevermind the fact that there have been lose wheels in F1 time and time again, and that any major bit of debris coming off of a crashed car can become perilous at sufficient speed. Case in point, about two days after his comment, Massa just barely survived a similar incident in F1.
God Bless that young man.
Amazing video, as always! You could make a video about the 1955 LeMans Disaster if that interests you!
your videos are so good that i planned to make videos like you
Go for it! Thank you
And now this year at the Indy 500, the tether failed again and a wheel flew over the audience stands and landed in the parking lot where visitors were walking! It's a miracle nobody was injured or killed! And I was there so it hits close to home
Safe Motorsports are boring though
@@stellviahohenheim I'm pretty sure their life and safety matters more than your entertainment. But go on.
insane to think engineers and the f1 safety committee would even consider a open cockpit "safe" .
It is for the easy exit of the vehicle in the event of a crash, or to look at it another way, to minimise the chance of entrapment. This would have saved many lives over the years, namely from incineration. This amounts to a safety feature, of sorts. This opening in the car has been revised in Formula One over the years, other major changes made after Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen's crashes in consecutive years.
The halo inhibits the exiting of the cockpit somewhat, hence why drivers must pass a timed test.
"Over the years" by which you mean the 1970s....
Verstappen in 94 could've been prevented simply by benetton following the rules with the fuelling rig....
And they added 2 secs to the timed test because of the halo
@@JohnLawley24v who said I meant just the 70s? You made that up in your head. I was actually thinking, of the majority, earlier. Then you jump to the 90s with something about Jos and refuelling??
Extra 2 seconds? So it must impede, like I said.
Sometimes, I don't understand why people reply.
@@arconeagain makes sense thanks
The point isn't safe, it is about safe enough
something wrong was with the wheel tethers, Surtees' wheel also went off
The thing that wasn't supposed to happen, happened twice in the span of a few seconds. Surtees' left rear tire came off on impact too. It could be speculated that maybe the safety tethers weren't that much of a priority in that racing category.
You can really tell how solid the hit was by looking at how the tire went flying at 4:19 that tire really went flying. It looked like it flew about 100 meters on a 30 degree angle of launch. That means it was accelerated to about 35 m/s in an instant. Given the mass of 29 kilos that means about 35^2 * 29 = 35525 joules of kinetic energy was transferred in a split second. That's a lot of energy.
Rip Surtees he saved many ppls lives
The sad thing is usually these things need to happen for action to be taken. Some things are just unpredictable, or have such tiny chances of happening it just slips the mind. What instantly came to mind during this video to me was the last Indy 500 from 2023, where Kirkwood's tire flew over the catch fencing and luckily missed the grandstand hitting a couple of parked cars in the parking lot. That could've ended so badly too, and I really hope they took action on that (I follow F1 but usually watch the Indy 500, haven't heard any news or action about that incident since.)
John Surtees had a son late in life and was lucky to have Henry but it stinks that he was robbed of seeing his son take up where he left off. I wish I could have seen Henry make it to F1 or Indy car but he has left a legacy in that his death pushed research to prevent what happened to him to happen again
Such a sad story 😥 Motorsport lost a upcomming legend
Look how fast that wheel took off after he hit it… just shows how much energy was transferred to his head and helmet..
How unlucky, r.i.p young man.
That’s Awesome
Henry's crash is one of- if not the most unnerving thing on recorded television. It's just... straight up, you see a man die, right before your eyes, and the consequences of it. It's not just something you see and it flashes away. You can pinpoint all the moments that go wrong, right to that haunting throttle at the end. It's... genuinely gut-wrenching.
All of my respect to his father and the Surtees family, and the people at Brands, and the people of Mission Motorsport.
Henry's tire came off too--that shouldn't have happened!
Rest Easy Young Man.
he's making something big
I’d never even heard of Henry, what a bloody shame.
Wow, I only noticed the halos over the last few years watching motorsport. I figured they were a safety item. They couldn’t just be there to look cool, but I didn’t know that this was the reason they were implemented. What a story.
I remember watching that race
A world champion in the making
So sad and so young 💔
It’s terrible that safety improvements only come after tragedy. The aeroscreen in IndyCar may have saved Justin Wilson (however the angle it hit was nearly 90 degrees so it may still have hit).
The best example imo showing the aeroscreen’s success is when Callum Ilott had debris hit the screen, slide up, and break the air hose connected to his helmet which was slightly above the screen. This was at 220mph at Texas Motor Speedway. The onboard of it looks really scary yet really cool at the same time.
Channel deserves to be bigger ❤great video!
Wow, I just realized how long ago this was. I remember the news breaking.
Sad took a decade and numerous drivers being injured/killed for aeroscreen and halo to make it on the scene. We also already have seen it save lives shortly after its introduction. Its a very fine line between safety and honestly looks&history/keeping fans/drivers happy.
Tragic loss, so young.