Motorsport today mourns the death of 18-year-old Dutch racing driver Dilano Van ‘t Hoff, who was killed during Race 2 of the Formula Regional European Championship weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
The circuit has been a mainstay of the Formula 1 calendar since the fifties, with this year’s Belgian Grand Prix scheduled for 30 July.
The Royal Automobile Club of Belgium released the following statement on Saturday: “The death of MP Motorsport driver Dilano Van ‘t Hoff in the Formula Regional European Championship is sadly announced by Alpine. The incident happened during Spa-Francorchamps Race 2.
“We would like to express our sincere condolences to the family, team and friends. The Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps and SRO Motorsports together with Groupe Alpine and ACI extend their deepest condolences to the family, team and friends of the driver.”
As the motorsport world digested the tragedy, fellow Dutchman and double F1 World Champion Max Verstappen tweeted: “Very sad to hear the news about Dilano today. I want to express my condolences to Dilano’s family and loved ones.
– BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) 1 July 2023
In a social media statement, organizers announced that all start-line entertainment plans have been canceled ahead of the Spa 24 Hours race weekend at the venue this weekend. A minute’s silence will be held before the start of the race to honor the memory of Van’t Hoff.
It said: “Everyone involved with the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is devastated by the news that Formula Regional EU Alpine driver Dilano Van’t Hoff lost his life in a crash during this morning’s race. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and MP Motorsport.
Trackside, with poor visibility and conditions at Spa treacherous broadcast footage pushed Tim Tramnitz out of second place at Raidillon according to reports, while Van Hoff spun and was hit at full speed by Adam Fitzgerald at the start of Kemmel . Straight.
By all accounts at this point, it is similar to the incident that claimed the life of Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert during the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
both today Formula Regional And Spa-Francorchamps Websites were offline in the wake of breaking news today.
Dutch driver Van’t Hoff was in his second full season racing in Formula Regional. Our team at GRANDPRIX247 joins the world of motorsport in expressing our heartfelt condolences to the Van Hoff family, their friends, team-mates and colleagues at this sad time when words are at a loss for us.
Condolences poured in on social media for the Delano from the world of motorsport:
team statement
Spa-Francorchamps, 1 July 2023MP Motorsport is deeply saddened to confirm that our driver, Dilano van ‘t Hoff, has died as a result of an accident during the second race of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at Spa Francorchamps. pic.twitter.com/IWvS0fY1bs
– MP Motorsport (@OfficialMPteam) 1 July 2023
Extremely saddened to hear the news about Dilano today.. I want to express my condolences to Dilano’s family and loved ones.
rest in peace 🥀 pic.twitter.com/4XeowMZCsi
– Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) 1 July 2023
