Teen motorsport driver tragically dies after accident during race

01 July 2023 , 11:07

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Racing driver Dilano van't Hoff has died, aged 18 (Image: @ dilano_vant_hoff/Instagram)

A teenage motorsport starlet has died as a result of a crash at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

The incident happened on Saturday morning during an event at the home of the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix. Organisers of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) race named 18-year-old Dilano van't Hoff as the young driver who lost his life.

Footage of the incident shows Van't Hoff's orange MP Motorsport car spin on track in the wet weather conditions after contact with another racer. With vision hampered by the spray, another car then hit into the side of his stricken machine at high speed.

The series said in a statement: "Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine sadly announces the death of MP Motorsport driver Dilano van't Hoff. The incident happened during Spa-Francorchamps race 2.

"We want to express our sincere condolences to the family, team and friends. Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps and SRO Motorsports Group join Alpine and ACI in expressing their sincerest condolences to the driver's family, team and friends."

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In a social media statement, the 24 Hours of Spa endurance event announced that all start-line entertainment plans have been cancelled. A minute's silence will be held before the start of the race to honour Van't Hoff's memory.

It added: "Everyone associated with the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is devastated by the news that Formula Regional EU by Alpine driver Dilano van't Hoff lost his life in an accident during this morning's race. We express our deepest condolences to his family, friends and MP Motorsport."

Van't Hoff, from the Netherlands, was in his second full season racing in FRECA. In his first, he took one podium at Barcelona, finishing third at that event in 2022.

Van't Hoff died as a result of a crash at Spa-Francorchamps (@ dilano_vant_hoff/Instagram)

Prior to that, he had spent 2021 racing in two separate Formula 4 championships. In the UAE version of the series, he finished second in the standings while he went on to win the Spanish F4 title that year.

Spa-Francorchamps, in Stavelot near Liege, was also the place where the incident happened which led to the death of Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert in 2019. The Frenchman had crashed into a tyre barrier after contact with another driver, after which he was deflected into the patch of Juan Manuel Correa who hit his stationary car at 135mph.

Both cars were torn to pieces and the drivers sustained serious injuries. Hubert was sadly pronounced dead at the circuit's medical centre around 90 minutes after the crash had happened.

Van't Hoff's death comes four years after F2 racer Anthoine Hubert lost his life at Spa (AFP/Getty Images)

Correa was airlifted to hospital after breaking both his legs and suffering a spinal injury. He was later placed into a medically-induced coma but survived, and is now back competing in F2.

In a statement on Saturday, Van't Hoff's team wrote: "MP Motorsport is deeply saddened to confirm that our driver, Dilano van't Hoff has passed away as a result of a crash during the second race of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at Spa Francorchamps.

"We are devastated at the loss of one of our brightest Dutch talents, who brought so much energy to our team during the years he raced with us. Dilano has been a part of our racing family since his motorsport debut with MP back in 2021.

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"We offer our sincere condolences to Dilano's family and his loved ones, and are in full support of them and our team members who have lost not only a driver but a friend as well."

Motorsport governing body the FIA said: "The FIA extends its condolences to the family and friends of Dilano van 't Hoff and to the MP Motorsport Team following the incident today during the Formula Regional European Championship event at Spa-Francorchamps."

And F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said: "We are so sad to learn of the passing of Dilano van't Hoff today at Spa-Francorchamps. Dilano died in pursuit of his dream to reach the pinnacle of motorsport. Along with the entire motorsport community, our thoughts are with his family and loved ones."

Daniel Moxon