Dilano van't Hoff died while racing on the Spa-Francorchamps track. © Social Media

Shock for young talent: Spa once again a place of mourning

An 18-year-old motorsport talent died in a serious accident during a formula race. The motorsport scene is shocked and mourning. The accident is reminiscent of another fatal crash at almost the same location.

July 01, 2023

From: dpa/tu

The motorsport world mourns the loss of 18-year-old racing driver Dilano van't Hoff. The Dutchman died in a serious accident on Saturday during a race in the European junior series Formula Regional on the Grand Prix track in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. The youth event was part of the supporting program of the 24-hour race.

“Dilano died chasing his dream of reaching the pinnacle of motorsports. Together with the entire motorsport community, our thoughts are with his family and loved ones,” commented Formula 1 Managing Director Stefano Domenicali. “We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family, team and friends,” the racing series said in a statement. The International Automobile Federation and the Ferrari Formula 1 team also quickly expressed their condolences.

The racing driver was only 18 years old. © Social Media

“It is an extremely sad day for the entire motorsport family and my thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends,” said Spanish Ferrari star Carlos Sainz. The sad news spread quickly in the Formula 1 paddock in Spielberg, Austria. Before the sprint in the Formula 2 junior series, there was a minute of mourning for the teams and drivers in Styria.

He was considered a great talent in the motorsport scene. © Social Media

Exactly how van't Hoff's accident happened remained unclear at first. Live images of the race only showed how an accident occurred on a wet track with poor visibility and lots of spray because a driver lost control of his car. According to the Dutch newspaper AD, van't Hoff had spun his car. He is then said to have been hit by another car.

On the same route as Anthoine Hubert

In 2019, the then Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert had a fatal accident on the course in the Ardennes. The serious incident occurred in almost the same place on the demanding course.
“We are devastated by the loss of one of our greatest Dutch talents, who brought so much energy to our team in the years he raced with us,” van't Hoff's team MP Motorsport tweeted. The talent has been a member of the racing team since his debut in 2021.