Such a sad day for motorsport, he was an amazing driver who has such a young family who now are fatherless. Not the way for a life to end.



I will admit to crying during the tribute that was put on, seeing those chequered flags raised to await a driver who won't receive them sent me over the edge.

bludvl_x19 said:

Such a sad day for motorsport, he was an amazing driver who has such a young family who now are fatherless. Not the way for a life to end.

I will admit to crying during the tribute that was put on, seeing those chequered flags raised to await a driver who won't receive them sent me over the edge.

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Well said.
I switched on this morning and saw his picture and for a few moments thought "fantastic, he's won at Vegas" - then the realisation dawned.
Such a shame for a very talented and nice guy.
Indy car I think is going for closed wheel design in future to prevent this kind of crash, but that is for another day, not today.

Whether we race ourselves, we officiate, we commentate, we sponsor, we car own or we spectate, we can't help but feel hurt when motor racing loses one of it's own. What we do and what we love IS unique, it IS dangerous and it ISN'T for everyone. They are just some of the reasons that we're all part of one big family even though not everybody outside our world understands the attraction. Whether you're driving a Sprintcar at Warrnambool, a V8 at Bathurst, a Formula Ford at Brands Hatch or winning the Indy 500, you're one of US. And that's why it hurts so bad today. Because we lost one of our own...

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Not my words, but they express exactly how so many people are feeling.

A tragic loss, I suppose there is some small consolation in the fact that he died doing something he loved

True, but the sad thing is he deserved to have been in the relatively much safer and better world of F1, not chasing a prize by starting at the back in a novelty race on a crappy little track with far too many (34) cars on it, in a car that is basically a 9 year old design.

Yes, a $5m dollar prize is quite an incentive, I guess it could be said that he knew the risks when he got in the car but that doesn't make it right

Gaz37 said:

Yes, a $5m dollar prize is quite an incentive, I guess it could be said that he knew the risks when he got in the car but that doesn't make it right

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Yes, and nobody forced him in to the car. However drivers and fans have a right to expect that in this day and age everything possible is done to reduce the risks, and starting 34 cars on a track that size was ridiculous. bearing in mind this is the same organisation that recently forced a race re-start in the rain on slick tyres. There was carnage (thankfully not on this scale) on the first corner and the race had to be stopped again.
There are some great reacers, courage and great teams in Indycar, and great excitement, but in terms of overall skill and organisational level it's more like Dukes of Hazzard than F1.And this is no disrespect to the fans or the drivers - just the organisers.

I think it's such a shame someone from Britain who had acheived so much in motorsport is virtually unheard of untill his death.

The BBC didn't even mention his win of the Indy 500 this year, one of the three great races of the world, the others being monaco GP and Le Mans.

I turned on the TV this moring at about 7am for the BBC news. There was a picture of Dan Wheldon, and I stupidly for a second thought me must have won, but then I realised he wouldn't have made the headlines in the UK unless it was something tragic - and it was.