PAULERSPURY, england — The daring moves and steely determination of Justin Wilson were remembered at the IndyCar driver’s funeral inan English village on Thursday, nearly three weeks after the former Dacono resident’s fatal accident during a race.
Former Formula One teammate Mark Webber and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti helped to carry the coffin, draped in a Union Jack, into a church near the central England circuit of Silverstone.
Hundreds of mourners, including three-time F1 champion Jackie Stewart, packed into the St. James and Great Church while a few Paulerspury residents gathered outside to hear the service broadcast over a speaker.
A poem written by Wilson’s wife, Julia, in the days after her 37-year-old husband’s death was read.
Wilson’s daughters, Jane and Jessica, left handwritten notes on wreathes remembering their father.
“I feel sad and I miss you. Love, Jane,” read one. The other simply said: “Daddy, I love you. Jessica.”
Wilson died Aug. 23, a day after being hit in the helmet by debris from another car at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
Wilson won seven times over 12 seasons in open-wheel racing and finished as high as fifth in the Indianapolis 500.
“Justin had raw talent in abundance,” former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer told mourners. “His overtaking skills were incredible, … and he would always achieve this cleanly and fairly.”
Delivering the eulogy, Palmer added: “Justin had a steely determination in a race car with the most relaxed amiable disposition.”
