Motor racing is getting safer all the time. But sometimes there’s very little that even modern technology can do to avert the disaster wrought when unstoppable force meets immovable object.
Billy Monger, a 17-year-old up-and-coming racing driver from Gatwick in the United Kingdom, was competing in a Formula 4 race at Donington Park this past Sunday when he crashed, and crashed hard.
The incident occurred when Finnish competitor Patrick Pasma’s car was left stranded in the middle of the track as the field approached. The cars in front of Monger’s saw Pasma in time to swerve and avoid, but as you can see from the onboard footage, Monger didn’t. He crashed right into the back of Pasma’s car, at speed, likely never having had time to even touch the brake pedal.
Autosport reports that it took nearly two hours to extract Monger from the wreckage, after which he was initially treated trackside before being airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre – one of the UK’s largest hospitals – in nearby Nottinghamshire. The young racer was medically induced into a coma while the doctors operated, tragically having to amputate both his legs.
It’s a trauma which Alex Zanardi knows all too well, having suffered a similar tragedy in 2001 in an Indy car at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. After a long recovery, Zanardi has periodically returned to racing, and competes regularly in para-cycling. We hope that Monger will recover soon and take inspiration from Zanardi’s example.
According to a statement issued by the race organizers, Billy is in critical but stable condition, and is scheduled to be woken from the coma in the coming days. A fund has been established to help Monger recover, having already raised over £400,000 – 55 percent more than the £260,000 initially targeted.
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