UKs Motoring

The death of Indycar racer Dan Wheldon

Dan Wheldon was an extraordinary talent and it is ironic that he met his death on the last day of the 2011 season. He was not contesting the championship; the drivers who were, were Dario Franchitti and Will Power. Wheldon was racing for an entirely different challenge, and a controversial one. His challenge was to start the race from behind the rest of the grid and during the course of the race overtake all of the other cars; all 34 of them. If he had been successful he was would have collected $5 million prize money.

He was up for the challenge; his tweets expressed his intensity and determination to achieve it. It was not to be. The race was only 12 laps old before one of the most dreadful accidents in motorsport happened. 15 racing cars were involved in a pile up and Wheldon’s car flew through the air then exploded.

Motorsport is dangerous, but Indy Car racing is its most dangerous formula. Cars hurtle round a tight and steeply banked oval at speeds of up to 230 mph and there is simply nowhere to go should anything go wrong. Sadly it was an accident waiting to happen and one that will certainly change the nature of the sport.

Like just about all successful racing drivers, Wheldon started his sport when just a young child. He began driving Karts when he was just four years old and he competed in Karting against Jenson Button, often beating him. He had hoped to become an F1 driver, but he did not have the necessary finance so he crossed the pond to race in America. He was incredibly successful there and won the Indianapolis 500 on two occasions, including this year.

There have been large numbers of tributes from many who are or have been involved in the sport. Lewis Hamilton described him as an ‘inspiration’. And www.motors.co.uk would like to add their name to the many that have paid tribute to him.