Teenage British F4 racing driver loses both lower legs

thestaggy

thestaggy

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Teenage British F4 racing driver Billy Monger has lost both of his lower legs after a horrific crash, it has emerged.

The "gifted" 17-year-old was involved in the high-speed smash while racing at Donington Park in Derby on Sunday.

He was airlifted to hospital after remaining trapped in his vehicle for more than 90 minutes after the disaster.

Despite medics' best efforts, the teenager has lost both of his lower legs, according to a new fundraising page.

He now faces a "huge challenge to recover and return to a full and active life" following the devastating crash.

The collision at the motorsport circuit was captured on Billy's onboard camera and streamed live on television.

Thousands of people have watched the shocking moment his vehicle collided with another car on the course.

The race - during Round 6 of the British Formula 4 Championship - was red flagged while the incident was dealt with.

Commentators described the crash as "horrendous" as Billy was carefully extracted from his vehicle.

The teenager, from Charlwood, Surrey, was airlifted to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

He remains in intensive care at the hospital, where medics have been sadly unable to save his lower legs.

A JustGiving page has now been set up by racing driver Tom Ingram to support the "extremely talented" teen.
Click to expand...

Poor lad. But as Alex Zanardi has shown us, it isn't over.

Video below. It isn't graphic, but it sure is a vicious impact.

[video=youtube;z_6FlFW_no8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_6FlFW_no8[/video]
 
Sad :mad: Hope the doctors can do miracles and get him back to a full life, although he lost his legs.
 
Jeez! What was that car doing - the one he hit? It looked stationary.

Tragic accident.
 
Terrible news, it's going to be a hell of a road to recovery for this kid, perhaps more mentally than physically.
 
Dan C said:
Sad :mad: Hope the doctors can do miracles and get him back to a full life, although he lost his legs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its not going to be easy, but if he gets the right support he still has a future. He will find a fine role model in Alex Zanardi for a start. Zanardi too lost his lower legs after a crash and at a much older age, then he proceeded to win touring car races and 4 Paralympic Gold medals.

maumau said:
Jeez! What was that car doing - the one he hit? It looked stationary.

Tragic accident.
Click to expand...

So many possibilities. From what I gather, the track was damp and cars were battling for grip, so it could've been someone recovering from a spin/near spin or just mechanical issues or even a missed gear.
 
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thestaggy said:
So many possibilities. From what I gather, the track was damp and cars were battling for grip, so it could've been someone recovering from a spin/near spin or just mechanical issues or even a missed gear.
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http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2017/04/billy-monger-air-lifted-hospital-crash-pasma/

According to this article, "Pasma found himself battling for third with Ford F4 Challange Cup competitor Oliver York and team-mate Logan Sargeant. Unfortunately, he ran into technical issues, slowing to a stop on the back straight.

Monger, who was recovering through the field due to a first lap spin and didn’t see Pasma, smashing into the back of the Finn on the run down to the Old Hairpin."

The super slow mo video really shows the viciousness of the crash - his head/helmet took a major hit

[video=youtube;vu1ieQUgqfc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu1ieQUgqfc[/video]
 
Could they save his knees? I hope so. It sucks, but modern prosthesis is quite good, especially for the lower limbs. (Blame 15 years of IED's in Iran and Afghanistan)
This is not the end of his racing career, that is a certainty. I wish him luck.
 
Looks like the youngster is well on his way to recovery. He still wants to race.

[video=youtube;vd6M8U_rIFI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd6M8U_rIFI[/video]
 
Aw that little smiling face tugs at my heartstrings :(

What a terrible tragedy.
 
Bit obtuse but is there such a thing as disabled racing? Don't see a reason why not but never heard of it.
 
Ninja'd said:
Mental or physical?
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Seems both upon further reading. But there must be limitations though when it comes to the mental aspect, especially as their ultimate goal is to get disabled drivers to compete on the same level as able-bodied drivers
 
The young lad's pulled an Alex Zanardi.

Billy Monger takes podium on racing return at BRDC British F3 opener

Billy Monger claimed a podium finish on his return to competitive action in the first race of the BRDC Formula 3 Championship season opener at Oulton Park on Saturday.

It was the first time the 18-year-old had raced competitively since the accident in British Formula 4 at Donington Park last April that resulted in the amputation of both legs.

Having qualified in fifth place, 0.548s behind the pole time, Carlin racer Monger capitalised on contact between Clement Novalak and Krish Mahadik, settling into third place.

Monger fended off the advances of Tom Gamble for much of the race before finally securing the final podium position behind Nicolai Kjaergaard and winner Linus Lundqvist.

Monger's presence on the grid was confirmed only last week, having carried out pre-season testing, and at this stage his participation extends to just Oulton Park's opening round.

Carlin had been given special permission to run a fourth car, one more than the championship normally allows, due to the unique circumstances.

Monger currently operates the throttle by using a paddle on the steering wheel while using his right prosthetic leg to operate a brake pedal.
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https://www.autosport.com/national/news/135122/monger-takes-podium-on-return-to-racing

[video=youtube;Hlw3Mljf8qM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlw3Mljf8qM[/video]
 
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