A PROMISING Formula 1 racing apprentice was killed during “one last ride” with his girlfriend before putting it away for winter, an inquest heard.
Daniel Cracknell, 20, who worked as an engineer for the prestigious racing team Williams, lost control of his bike on a sharp bend in Grove, Oxfordshire, and fell into the path of an oncoming van.
He suffered severe brain injuries and died in hospital on November 13 last year, just over a week after the smash.
The inquest into his death, held in Oxford, heard that he was a well-respected member of the Williams team, which he joined as an apprentice straight from school.
Colleagues at Williams paid tributes to him and the team sent a message of condolence at the time of his death.
The flag at the team’s HQ in Grove flew at half-mast and team members wore black armbands at that year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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Daniel’s girlfriend, Lois, who was riding pillion on his Suzuki SCV650 at the time of the fatal crash, said that they had bonded over a shared love of bikes.
She added that the young engineer told friends he was taking the bike out for “one last ride” before putting it in storage for the winter.
Senior coroner for Oxfordshire, Darren Salter, heard that the couple took a route that was “normal” for them and were heading for home when the tragedy occurred.
The driver of the van reportedly swerved to avoid Daniel, but was unable to do so, leading to both Daniel and Lois being “flung off into the verge”.
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Lois said that she was “fully conscious” but cannot remember coming off the bike, only hitting the ground and trying to find her partner before they were both rushed to hospital.
Police investigators told the hearing that Daniel’s licence meant he was only qualified to ride motorcycles with up to 30KW of power.
However, he had removed the restrictor on his machine, which had a power capacity of 50KW, while an app on Lois’ phone suggested that their top speed on the day of the crash was up to 94mph.
Thames Valley Police concluded in their investigation that the loss of control should be attributed to rider error.
The coroner returned a verdict of a road traffic collision and said that the medical cause of death was a traumatic brain injury.
He said: “On the balance of probability a combination of the wet road and the speed, leading to a loss of control attributed to rider error and leading to an accident, a tragic accident, resulting in the loss of Dan and injuries to Lois as well.
“I have heard that he was generally careful and a very good driver and I don’t doubt that for a moment.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
