Funeral for IndyCar driver Justin Wilson held in English village

PAULERSPURY, England (AP) — The daring moves and steely determination of Justin Wilson were remembered at the IndyCar driver’s funeral in an English village on

SI Staff | Sep 10, 2015

Funeral for IndyCar driver Justin Wilson held in English village /

PAULERSPURY, England (AP) — The daring moves and steely determination of Justin Wilson were remembered at the IndyCar driver’s funeral in an English village on Thursday, three weeks after his fatal accident during a race.

Former Formula One teammate Mark Webber and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti helped to carry the coffin, draped in a Union Jack, into a church near the central England circuit of Silverstone.

Hundreds of mourners, including three-time F1 champion Jackie Stewart, packed into the St. James and Great Church while a few Paulerspury residents gathered outside to hear the service being relayed over a speaker.

A poem written by Wilson's wife, Julia, in the days after her 37-year-old husband's death was read out.

“It’s not fair you had such a short life,” the poem said.

Wilson’s daughters Jane and Jessica left hand-written notes on wreathes remembering their father.

SI Now remembers Justin Wilson

“I feel sad and I miss you. Love Jane,” read one. The other simply said: “Daddy I love you. Jessica.”

Wilson died on Aug. 23, a day after being hit in the helmet by debris from another car at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.

Wilson won seven times over 12 seasons in open-wheel racing, and finished as high as fifth in the Indianapolis 500.

“Justin had raw talent in abundance,” former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer told mourners. “His overtaking skills were incredible ... and he would always achieve this cleanly and fairly.”

Delivering the eulogy, Palmer added: “Justin had a steely determination in a race car with the most relaxed amiable disposition.”

Palmer helped to create a program in 2003 that allowed fans to invest in Wilson’s career.

An acclaimed sports car racer, Wilson won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Michael Shank Racing, and he competed in F1 in 2003 before moving to the U.S. to join Champ Car. He finished third in the Champ Car standings in 2005, and was runner-up in 2006 and 2007.

“Things didn't always go his way, he didn’t always get the drives his talent deserved but you never heard him moaning about it,” Franchitti told The Associated Press. '“He just made the best of what he had.

'“He won some races in some equipment that honestly probably shouldn’t have won races. It was the way he dealt with the adversity. He just got on with it.”

Wilson returned to drive from a broken back in 2011, and a broken pelvis and bruised lung in 2013.

“We know the dangers are always there,” Webber, a teammate of Wilson’s at Jaguar in the 2003 F1 season, said at Silverstone following the service. “Motorsport has had good and bad patches when it comes to these tragic events. When it is really close to home then it hits you even harder. This is very close to home personally for me.”

Closed cockpits in Formula One? Not so fast...

Wilson’s death has prompted renewed calls for greater protection for drivers, including closed cockpits, coming a month after F1 driver Jules Bianchi died following nine months in a coma after a massive head injury in a race crash last October.

“It is inevitable (closed cockpits) will probably happen,” Webber said at Silverstone. “It is hard to have a knee-jerk reaction because these things need a lot of research, and working out how they can make it work from both sides.”

The Union Jack and Stars and Stripes were flown at half-staff at Silverstone, where Wilson’s career was remembered with video highlights and speeches.

The last IndyCar driver to die from an on-track incident was two-time Indianapolis 500 champ Dan Wheldon, who was killed in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas after his head hit a post in the fence when his car went airborne.

“It takes an incident like this or Dan Wheldon's crash ... to get everyone galvanized again to come up with the next solution,” said Franchitti, who is Scottish. “But racing is a dangerous sport and everyone participating in it understands that.

“When I was driving I felt the risks were perfectly normal. When I stopped driving I realized it’s something special these drivers do.”

GALLERY: Justin Wilson’s Racing Career

Justin Wilson's Racing Career

Fast start

Justin-Wilson-portrait.1.jpg — Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Justin Wilson was born on July 31, 1978, in Sheffield, England. He was dyslexic and would later work on behalf of foundations that researched the disorder. He got his start racing karts at age 9 and moved on to open-wheel circuits, beginning with Formula Vauxhall. In 1998 at age 20 he won nine races and the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi Championship.

Formula 3000

Wilson drew attention when he won the 2001 International Formula 3000 championship (photo) and competed in the American Le Mans Series in 2002.

Formula One

In 2003 Wilson became the tallest driver (6’ 4”) in F1 history, spending that year driving for Minardi Cosworth (photo) and Jaguar Racing. To raise money to support his career, he sold shares in himself to nearly 900 investors.

Champ Car

Moving to the U.S. in 2004, Wilson began racing in the Champ Car Series, going on to win four races (his first came in Toronto in 2005) plus three more after the series became IndyCar.

Daytona glory

Wilson and former teammate A.J. Allmendinger, who was also a good friend, joined with Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson to win the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in 2012.

Victory at Texas

In 2012, Wilson won at Texas Motor Speedway in what would turn out to be his last IndyCar victory.

Brother act

In 2013, Justin and his younger brother Stefan raced together in the Grand Prix of Baltimore, the first siblings since the Bettenhausen brothers, Gary and Tony Jr., in 1983 to compete together in IndyCar.

Indy 500

Wilson (front row, left) drove in the Indy 500 eight times, his best finish being fifth in 2013.

Undaunted by danger

Wilson suffered his share of injuries. In 2006 he hit a tire barrier in Queensland, Australia and broke his right wrist. In 2011 he broke his back when his car went airborne at Mid-Ohio, and two years later suffered a broken pelvis and bruised lung in a crash in the season finale at Fontana (pictured). Each time he battled back to keep doing the thing he loved most.

On the move

Despite his talent, versatility and determination, Wilson sometimes had trouble securing rides, often due to lack of sponsors. He drove for six Champ/IndyCar teams, including Andretti Autosport, with whom he signed in 2015, and was widely liked and respected. In June 2015, he made his debut in the all-electric Formula E series with Andretti, finishing 10th in Moscow.

Safety advocate

After the death of Dan Wheldon in 2012 (Ed Carpenter is pictured here), Wilson was selected along with Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan to represent the drivers in talks with IndyCar. Among his safety proposals: seamless metal barriers that allow cars to slide freely without getting snagged, and grandstands that are inside racing ovals to better protect fans because debris usually flies to the outside.

The tragedy

On Sunday, August 23, 2015 at Pocono Raceway Wilson was struck in the head by a heavy piece of flying debris from Sage Karam's car, which had hit the wall. He was airlifted to a local hospital where he remained in a coma until his death the next day. He leaves a wife, two daughters, and a grieving racing community that includes NASCAR and F1.

Team player

Former teammate Graham Rahal (left with Takuma Sato, center) said of Wilson, “A lot of drivers are great because they’re selfish. But Justin was always the first guy to come up to me and say something positive, something constructive, something helpful. You mention ‘team player,’ that’s Justin, and it’s hard to find that sort of guy in sports. He was just the nicest guy out there.”

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Online:

http://racing.ap.org/article/saying-farewell-justin-wilson

http://justinwilson.co.uk/

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Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports

Published Sep 10, 2015

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