Justin Wilson

His father owns a solvents company, a petrol station, and raced Formula Ford cars from the 1960s until a major accident at Oulton Park in 1975 ended his career.

Wilson's younger brother, Stefan, is also a racing driver.

He grew up in Woodall, South Yorkshire.

Justin Boyd Wilson (31 July 1978 – 24 August 2015) was a British professional open-wheel racing driver who competed in Formula One (F1) in, the Champ Car World Series (CCWS) from 2004 to 2007 and the IndyCar Series from 2008 to 2015.

Wilson was born in Moorgate, a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on 31 July 1978 to Keith and Lynne Wilson.

Aged 8 in 1987, Wilson sought a hobby and took up karting, refining his ability at the South Yorkshire Kart Club in Wombwell, Barnsley.

His father was his chief mechanic, courier and mentor.

From 1989 to the completion of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations in July 1994, Wilson was educated at Sheffield's private Birkdale School.

At age 11, he was tested for dyslexia, a learning disability that affects how a person reads and writes words; the test was negative.

Wilson's mother took him to a clinic for a second test two years later and he was formally diagnosed with the condition at the age of 13.

He struggled at school with the disability and received additional tutoring; Wilson's peers perceived him as inept and unintelligent.

In 1989, Wilson finished 7th in the Cadet National British Karting Championship, 12th in the 1991 RACMSA Junior British Championships, improving to 4th in 1992.

His father contacted karting expert Terry Fullerton in 1993 and the two met at the Worksop motorway services.

Fullerton told him Wilson should cease karting in his category because of his weight, and mentored him in 1994.

Wilson finished fifth in the 1994 Formula A British Championship, the United Kingdom's highest-level of kart racing.

He was third at Buckmore Park Kart Circuit's Renault GP race.

He progressed to car racing at age 16, competing in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series with Team JLR, as preparation for the 1995 Formula Vaxuhall Junior Championship.

Wilson won on his series debut at Pembrey Circuit in South Wales' first heat aged 16 years and 2 months, and became the first 16-year-old to win an official motor race in the United Kingdom.

He remained with Team JLR in 1995.

Wilson missed the season's first round after breaking both his legs when the brakes on his racing school car failed at Brands Hatch.

A pre-season title favourite, he claimed four victories and tied on points in third position with driver Ben Collins.

He won the Formula Vauxhall Junior Challenge Cup category limited to 16-year-olds.

Wilson won the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Chris Bristow Trophy as "the most promising driver to race at Silverstone", and was a finalist for the Autosport BRDC Award.

He won the first Formula Palmer Audi (FPA) in 1998, the International Formula 3000 Championship (IF3000) with Nordic Racing in 2001, and co-won the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona for Michael Shank Racing.

Wilson began karting at the age of eight and achieved consistent results, before progressing to car racing in the Formula Vauxhall Championship.

He won the FPA title and earned a fully funded seat in IF3000, becoming the first British driver to win the series championship in 2001.

He moved to the 2002 World Series by Nissan for the Racing Engineering team and finished fourth.

Through an investment scheme where the public could purchase shares in Wilson, he drove for the Minardi and Jaguar teams in the 2003 F1 season.

He drove for the Conquest Racing and RuSPORT teams in the CCWS from 2004 to 2007, winning four races and finishing runner-up in the 2006 and 2007 drivers' championships.

He married his partner Julia in 2006 and they have two children, Jane and Jessica.

Wilson was the official ambassador for the International Dyslexia Association, and Teen Cancer America.

Wilson went to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for the 2008 IndyCar Series, winning the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.

A move to the low-budget Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) team for 2009 resulted in the team's first open-wheel victory at the Grand Prix at the Glen.

Wilson moved to the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing squad from 2010 and 2011 but did not win a race.

He was the first driver to die from injuries sustained in an IndyCar race since Dan Wheldon in 2011.

, it is also the most recent fatal accident to have occurred in IndyCar.

His organs were donated to save the lives of five people.

A hairpin corner at Snetterton Circuit was renamed after him and a memorial fund was established to support his children.

He returned to DCR for 2012 to 2014, winning the 2012 Firestone 550 and finishing sixth in the 2013 drivers' championship.

Late in the 2015 season, in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, Wilson died after debris from a crashed car struck his helmet.