Dutch driver Dilano van ’t Hoff, 18, died Saturday as the result of a crash during the second Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) race at Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium, according to a statement from his team MP Motorsport.
The details about what caused the accident haven’t been revealed.
“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,” a team statement read.
“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.”
In a social media statement, organisers announced that all start-line entertainment plans have been cancelled ahead of the Spa 24 Hours race weekend happening at the venue this weekend. 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.”
According to reports trackside at Spa, with visibility poor and conditions treacherous broadcast footage had honed in on Tim Tramnitz spinning out of second place at Raidillon while Van’t Hoff spun and was hit at full speed by Adam Fitzgerald at the very start of the Kemmel Straight.
By all accounts at this point, a very similar to the incident that claimed the life of Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert, during the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
Today, both the Formula Regional and Spa-Francorchamps websites were offline in the wake of the news breaking today.
Most notably, a crash in a 2019 Formula 2 race led to the death of F1 prospect Anthoine Hubert. Changes to the complex were made in 2022 after a series of further crashes in Formula 1, W Series, and the 24 Hours of Spa further heightened concerns about that section of the track. A re-profiled corner and added runoff were meant to prevent further crashes like this, but tragedy has struck again just two seasons later.
Those safety questions will remain a major topic of concern throughout the Summer.The 24 Hours of Spa runs at the track today and Formula 1 visits Spa in less than a month.
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