REVscene Automotive Forum - Henry Surtees dies during race (Formula 2)

REVscene Automotive Forum (https://www.revscene.net/forums/)

- Vancouver Auto Chat (https://www.revscene.net/forums/vancouver-auto-chat_173/)

- - Henry Surtees dies during race (Formula 2) (https://www.revscene.net/forums/583364-henry-surtees-dies-during-race-formula-2-a.html)

Henry Surtees dies during race (Formula 2)

Son of John Surtees
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph...2_1446893c.jpg
he got hit on the head by a tire!

i dont watch formula 2 but this happened a few days ago...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06dsOwfe7xo

how crazy is that?!

Quote:

With his parents watching, the 18 year-old was hit on the head by a loose wheel from another car that bounced across the track during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch on Sunday. Surtees was killed instantly by the blow, his car driving straight through the next corner before colliding with the barriers.

It was a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in motorsport, although it says much for the great strides it has made in the area of safety that the incident has so shaken the racing community.

As tributes for Henry flooded in on Monday, John Surtees, now 75, issued a poignant statement saying simply that his son would be "deeply missed".

"Henry had followed his heart from the time he first sat in a kart," said the 1964 Formula One world champion. "He treated seriously the balance between motorsport and school, having just finished his A-levels. The world beckoned and he was thriving on the freedom to concentrate on his motorsport.

"Despite bad luck in his motorsport, he had shown himself to be one with the possibilities of reaching the very top. Despite his young age he had shown maturity, technical understanding and speed. Most importantly he was a nice person and a loving son and brother. He will be deeply missed."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa both expressed their sorrow and, in common with other leading figures in motorsport, stressed the importance of learning from the tragedy.

"These things remind us how much safety has to remain the priority on the track and in all the other places of motorsport," Massa said. "Over the last years much has been done, but we can't be inattentive."...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...ort-world.html

Such a freak accident... sad...

RIP.

this is why Formula 1 has an ultra strong tether cable that holds the wheel attached to the car in case of crashes so shit like this doesnt happen..
if the wheel breaks away from the car completely, it is held to the car by a cable

but I guess Formula 1 drivers lives are worth more than Formula 2.... people in charge who decided that F2 cars shouldnt have this safety features should all be fired after this incident

Since 1998, F1 cars have had to fit wheel tethers connecting the wheels to the chassis. This rule was introduced to try to stop wheels coming free and bouncing around dangerously during an accident. Unfortunately, wheels still do come off the cars during crashes, tragically killing a marshall at the Italian GP in 2000. The FIA have introduced an extra tether to each wheel for the 2001 season to try to stop the wheels coming off and causing injury to other drivers, marshals or spectators. The tether must attach to the chassis at one end, with the other end connecting to the wheel hub.

The wheel tethers are made by one of three companies in the UK, Future Fibres in London being one of them, and take the form of a rope. The tethers used in F1 are a derivative of high performance marine ropes, made especially for each car. They are made from a special polymer called polybenzoaoxide (PBO) which is often called Zylon. This Zylon material has a very high strength and stiffness characteristic (around 280GPa) much like carbon, but the advantage of Zylon is that it can be used as a pure fibre unlike carbon which has to be in composite form to gain its strength. The drawback of Zylon is that is must be protected from light, so it is covered in a shrink wrapped protective cover. The tethers are designed to withstand about 5000 kg of load, but often they can break quite easily during an accident, especially if the cable gets twisted by the broken suspension members. The teams normally replace the tethers every two or three races to ensure that they can withstand the loads put on them during an accident.

Racing has always been dangerous and always will be. Unfortunately people seem to forget that these days...

RIP

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adon (Post 6517077)

this is why Formula 1 has an ultra strong tether cable that holds the wheel attached to the car in case of crashes so shit like this doesnt happen..

but I guess Formula 1 drivers lives are worth more than Formula 2.... people in charge who decided that F2 cars shouldnt have this safety features should all be fired after this incident

All of the F2 cars have tethers for the wheels. This is just a case of them failing, as in many of the F1 crashes as well.

Statement from the F2 Series Chief:

http://www.formulatwo.com/news/henry...statement.aspx

Quote:

The Williams F1 designed Formula Two cars comply with the FIA 2005 F1 safety standards including the fitment of wheel tethers to reduce the risk of wheels coming off in accidents. The F2 car also includes the latest F1 standards of driver head protection with high cockpit sides and lateral deformable structures. As with F1 however, wheel tethers cannot provide an absolute guarantee that a wheel will not come off in an accident and in a single seater race car the front of the head is inevitably exposed to the risk, however small, of being hit by another car or component.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carmaniac (Post 6517082)

really ? because in that short clip I saw 2 failures, even Surtess car after hitting the wall his wheel fell off his car too. maybe they use a shittier quality cable in F2

in the last few years I've seen a few bad crashes in F1, much worse than this one, and every time the tether has held

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adon (Post 6517087)

You mean like this? :D

http://www.bmwism.com/news/kubica_cr...ia_gp_2009.jpg Australia 2009 - Kubica

sooo younggg n dead alreadi,rip

Fuck that's just disturbing to watch on video...

RIP,
however, can someone explain to me how this tether work? where are the points of connection?
I am trying to imagine a rope between the rotating wheel and the chassis... and all i see is the rope being twisted around whatever suspension components. I know I am missing something, so can someone please educate me?

wow at least it was quick

well he went doing what he liked.. but still sad way to go..

The teather is not designed to prevent the wheel from coming off completely. If they wanted to, they could make a teather that does not fail and will not release the wheel. The danger then is that the wheel will bounce back toward the chassis and hit it's own driver. The current teathers are designed to reduce the kinetic engery of the wheel before it completey departs - so that instead of a 100mph wheel flying at you, you have a 10mph wheel flying at you. (Which should be a bit easier to avoid) However when you're travelling at 100mph, a 10mph tire can still be fatal, as we've seen here with Surtees.

I'm more surprised that, this being revscene, no one mentioned that fact that Surtees is 75 and his son was 18. Really.. who has kids at 57?? I felt bad for Henry already knowing that his father would not be around for most of his life.. but now I really feel horrible for the family.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Sandor (Post 6517850)

It's like you were reading my mind. :thumbsup:
But I felt it was in bad taste to mention it. ;)

wow thats a horrible way to die.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy (Post 6517866)

It's like you were reading my mind. :thumbsup:
But I felt it was in bad taste to mention it. ;)

Revscene and bad taste go together like peanut butter and jelly.

yeah i was thinking about that age thing too, but didnt think it was too odd when i figured out he was in his late 50s... my grandfather had my aunt in his ... 60s/early 70s not to sure something like that