Allentown, Pennsylvania - A gentle giant of the paddock, Justin Wilson spent much of his career battling to fit his lanky frame into race cars built for smaller men and his quiet determination to succeed against the odds won him admirers across the globe.
Wilson died on Monday at the age of 37 after suffering a severe head injury during a crash in the closing laps of the penultimate IndyCar Series race at Pocono Raceway oval the previous day in Pennsylvania.
A former Formula One driver and multiple IndyCar winner, Wilson had been in critical condition in hospital before his death.
The huge flow of tributes from drivers and motor sport enthusiasts around the world underlined his standing as the “racers' racer”, a man whose pursuit of his passion never compromised his integrity.
“Why do we do this? Because we love it, don't want to be anywhere else but a race car,” Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner, tweeted.
“We will keep your legacy my friend. Racers race.”
Wilson was the first IndyCar driver to die following a race accident since fellow Briton Dan Wheldon was killed in a fiery crash in Las Vegas in October 2011.
Though drivers earn their pay pushing the limits, Wilson was the eighth to die in open wheel races on Northern American circuits since 1996 and the tragedy is certain to reignite the safety debate that has rumbled in the background.
RACING OBSESSION
Brought up in Woodall, a tiny hamlet abutting a freeway in south Yorkshire, Wilson's racing obsession sprung from boyhood karting and his talents were confirmed with his 1998 victory in the now-defunct British-based Formula Palmer Audi championship.
Wilson graduated to Formula 3000, the second-tier circuit below Formula One, and won the 2001 championship.
His 1.93 metre height would prove a liability in securing a race seat in F1, where drivers over 1.8 metres are a rarity, but with his management setting up a crowd-funding scheme to finance his racing ambitions, he was picked up by Minardi in 2003.
He joined Jaguar for the last five races of the season and scored his first and only championship point at the United States Grand Prix but would end up losing his seat to pay driver Christian Klien.
F1 ambitions dashed, Wilson rebuilt his career in the open wheel circuits in the United States winning four times in the defunct Champ Car world series and three times in IndyCar.
As for many other drivers, the cut-throat world of motor racing was a labour of love for Wilson, who grafted hard to secure drives and admitted it was hard on his family.
“It's just been one of those off-seasons, a roller-coaster of emotions, some days like really good and then other days, pretty desperate,” Wilson said earlier this year.
“And it's been like that the whole off-season where it's been up-down-up-down so many times with a couple of teams.
“It's tough on the family because they don't know what you're doing.
Wilson struggled to secure a regular drive this year but was thrilled to have been given some races at the end of the series with Andretti Autosport.
He underlined his quality with a runner-up finish at the Mid-Ohio race earlier in August, his first podium finish in IndyCar since 2013.
“It's great to get a good result here and continue to build toward next year and see what happens,” he said after the race.
“Hopefully something will come together.”
On Sunday, Wilson was struck by debris from another car during the wreck at the Pocono Raceway oval and his car careened out of control and into a wall. He was airlifted to hospital and died the following day.
He is survived by his wife Julia and two daughters.
TRIBUTES FLOW AMID CALLS FOR SAFETY REVIEW
Tributes continued to pour in on Tuesday, along with renewed calls throughout the motor racing world for a review of driver safety in the sport.
“Can't describe the sadness I feel for the loss of such a wonderful person,” Wilson's Andretti Autosport team mate Ryan Hunter-Reay, who went on to win Sunday's race, wrote on his Twitter account. “Justin was inspiring in so many ways & still is.”
Graham Rahal, son of 1986 Indy 500 winner and former Jaguar Formula One manager Bobby Rahal, said in a statement: “Some things in life just don't make sense. I know there's always a plan, but this one doesn't make any sense to me.
“Justin was the epitome of a great guy, an incredible teammate, great father and a wonderful friend.”
Wilson’s death has sparked widespread calls for the introduction of closed cockpits, or canopies.
“Its not only safer, it is more aero efficient, therefore, the future,” former Formula One driver Lucas di Grassi of Brazil said on Twitter.
“Canopies will be used in every single formula (open-wheel) series in the future. Not only for safety, but for aerodynamic improvement.”
INHERENTLY DANGEROUS
Hunter-Reay, who won the Indy 500 last year, felt that his sport was continually working harder on safety issues but that more could still be done.
“These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed,” said the 34-year-old Texan.
“Maybe in the future we can work toward something that resembles a canopy ... something that can give us a little protection and still keep the tradition of the sport.”
Reuters