Denis Derex's Fatal Crash @ Circuit des Remparts 2018 (Aftermath)
Denis Derex died on Sunday, 16 September 2018 morning, victim of sudden illness, while practicing for the 47th edition of the Épreuve Historique du Circuit des Remparts held at Angoulême, department of Charente in south-western France.
His gray colored Mini Cooper S #158 was one of the 24 cars entered in the "plateau Beltoise", reserved to GT, touring cars and prototypes built before 1965. Immediately unconscious, Denis Derex lost control of the car and violently hit a barrier on the left side of the road, in the sharpest turn of the circuit called "Fangio", just nearly the Cathedral of Angoulême. Then the car that was not damaged, caught fire.
The unfortunate driver could not be resuscitated by the rescuers. Extracted quickly from his car, Denis Derex was transported to the Centre Hospitalier de Girac in Angoulême where he was pronounced dead. The practice session was immediately stopped.
After his death, Denis Derex's wife Isabelle wrote a Facebook posting: "Sa passion s’arrêtera là à Angoulême. Une belle mort pour un pilote. Une catastrophe pour sa famille. Son bonheur était ses voitures, ses courses, ses amis de l’automobile" ("His passion will stop here in Angoulême. A beautiful death for a driver. A disaster for his family. His happiness were his cars, his races, his racing friends").
The accident which occurred at exactly 11h47 was reported to be the first fatality at the Circuit des Remparts, since its first edition held in 1939.´
R.I.P
His gray colored Mini Cooper S #158 was one of the 24 cars entered in the "plateau Beltoise", reserved to GT, touring cars and prototypes built before 1965. Immediately unconscious, Denis Derex lost control of the car and violently hit a barrier on the left side of the road, in the sharpest turn of the circuit called "Fangio", just nearly the Cathedral of Angoulême. Then the car that was not damaged, caught fire.
The unfortunate driver could not be resuscitated by the rescuers. Extracted quickly from his car, Denis Derex was transported to the Centre Hospitalier de Girac in Angoulême where he was pronounced dead. The practice session was immediately stopped.
After his death, Denis Derex's wife Isabelle wrote a Facebook posting: "Sa passion s’arrêtera là à Angoulême. Une belle mort pour un pilote. Une catastrophe pour sa famille. Son bonheur était ses voitures, ses courses, ses amis de l’automobile" ("His passion will stop here in Angoulême. A beautiful death for a driver. A disaster for his family. His happiness were his cars, his races, his racing friends").
The accident which occurred at exactly 11h47 was reported to be the first fatality at the Circuit des Remparts, since its first edition held in 1939.´
R.I.P