Former Malaysian Formula One driver Alex Yoong was sombre as he recalled his experience with Justin Wilson, who died in a freak accident at the IndyCar Series race on Monday.
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“I can’t find the proper words to describe the pain and sympathy I feel for Justin and his family”, Karam said in a statement on Twitter, followed by the hashtag #RIPJustin. He was my Brother, my best friend, my role model and mentor. “He was a champion!”
IndyCar driver Justin Wilson died on Monday night after being seriously injured when a piece of debris broke off another auto and struck him in the head at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.
Wilson sustained head injuries caused by flying debris from a single-car crash near Wilson late in Sunday’s race at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
Funeral arrangements have yet to be decided.
The British driver was adamant that he and his wife understood the dangers of his profession. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Julia, and their two young daughters, and everyone at Andretti Autosport“. “They were angry with him at that time, but I never blamed Wilson for the crash”, Yoong said.
Wilson had driven in major US open-wheel racing since the 2004 season.
After Wheldon’s death, Wilson became one of three driver representatives to serve as a liaison between the competitors and IndyCar.
In 2006, Wilson took part in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona event for the first time in his career, racing for the Michael Shank Racing team in a Lexus powered Riley ScottDaytona Prototype chassis.
Originally from Sheffield, England, Wilson picked up seven-career IndyCar victories, the most recent being in 2012 at Texas Motor Speedway. He was a husband and father to two little girls and lived in a Denver suburb with his family.
“Obviously Justin was a great professional driver and extremely good at his craft”.
Andretti’s son, Michael, was Wilson’s team boss at Andretti Autosport at the time of his passing: “My heart goes out to the Wilson family of the loss of Justin”.
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Carpenter knows firsthand racing cars for a living is a risky business.
