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Son was hoping to emulate father's success
20 Jul 2009Henry Surtees was born into motor-racing royalty.
The son of a Formula One world champion, he got behind the wheel in his first race at the age of eight.
A year later he picked up his first major trophy and by the age of 11 he had progressed to faster 125cc races.
He won his first race in that class and continued to pick up awards, as the pundits tipped him as a champion of tomorrow.
His career flourished and his exploits were lovingly recorded on his father's official website.
The last entry before his death was about a trip to Brno, in the Czech Republic, and paint a picture of a young man with his last A level exam behind him and the prospect of a glittering career ahead.
His own website, taken down since the news of his death emerged, poignantly lists Brands Hatch as his favourite circuit and notes his aspiration to drive a Formula One car.
It also carried a tribute from Steve Hollman, who runs Carlin Motorsport, who said: "With his heritage, Henry Surtees has a lot to live up to and at the final meeting of the British Formula 3 Championship, he exceeded all our expectations. We wanted a competent performance but he gave us far more - a pole position and a maiden race win. This is the mark of a potentially great racing driver."
It is that huge potential, that will now never be fulfilled, that ensured Henry was always more than just his father's son.
In an interview given this month, he was clearly ready to emerge out of his shadow.
He said: "My father has been a fantastic support for me throughout my career. Of course we fall out sometimes, and I'm the first to tell him he's wrong, but it is fantastic to have him alongside me at the races. He is a great source of advice, as he was an engineer before he was a driver, and he really knows his stuff. The main thing for me though is that I have to be my own man - ultimately I am the one driving, so it all comes down to me."
His father John was the only man to have won world titles on both two and four wheels.
He claimed multiple 500cc motorcycle world championships before winning the F1 crown with Ferrari in 1964.
The 75-year-old also fielded his own Team Surtees cars in F1, F2 and Formula 5000 in the 1970s.
