María De Villota
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María de Villota Comba (13 January 1979 â€“ 11 October 2013) was a
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
who competed in
Superleague Formula Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
and Euroseries 3000. She had an accident in straight-line testing as the
Marussia Marussia Motors ( ) was a Russian sports car company founded in 2007. It was the first Russian company to produce a supercar. It designed, and manufactured prototypes of both the B1 and the B2 sport cars. Marussia was led by former motor racer Ni ...
Formula One team test driver, where she suffered serious head and facial injuries, and died one year later. She was the daughter of former
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
driver Emilio de Villota, and sister of Emilio de Villota Jr., who similarly competed in Formula Palmer Audi.


Early career

De Villota was born in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. She competed in numerous racing series, including the
World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...
and ADAC Procar Series. In August 2009, she signed with
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
to race for the remainder of the season in the
Superleague Formula Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
open wheel racing An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, Sports car racing, sports cars, Stock car racing, stock cars, and Touring car racing, touring car ...
series. She remained with the Atlético Madrid team until the series folded in 2011. She also competed in the 2005
24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
endurance race.


Formula One

On 18 August 2011, the Lotus Renault GP team confirmed reports that De Villota had made her Formula One test debut in a Renault R29 at the
Paul Ricard Circuit The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, Le Castellet, Var (department), Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of buil ...
, and that her management was in talks to secure her a test driver seat in the future. In December she reiterated her desire to work with the team in 2012, adding that she was in advanced talks over a third driver role. On 7 March 2012, it was announced that de Villota had joined Marussia F1 Team as a test driver, with the opportunity to sample Formula One machinery later in the year.


Duxford Aerodrome testing accident

At approximately 9:30 on 3 July 2012, De Villota was involved in an accident at Duxford Aerodrome in England while carrying out straight-line testing for Marussia, her first time in the car. Her car crashed into a stationary truck at the end of a test run when it had just returned to the service area. A BBC reporter who witnessed the accident estimated the car was travelling at between when it crashed. It took an hour for her to be removed from the car and she was taken to
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is a large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county to ...
in
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
with life-threatening head and facial injuries. She was later reported to be conscious. The following day, Marussia team principal John Booth said De Villota remained in a "critical but stable" condition in hospital and had lost her right eye. On 6 July, the Marussia Technical Centre said that following an operation that day, her condition in relation to her head injury had improved. On 16 July, Marussia said the car was not at fault. Team principal John Booth said: "We are satisfied the findings of our internal investigation exclude the car as a factor in the accident". After a stay of 17 days, De Villota left the hospital and returned to
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, having escaped severe neurological damage. De Villota made her first public appearance since the accident in October 2012, giving an exclusive interview to ''
¡Hola! ''¡Hola!'' is a weekly Spanish-language magazine specializing in celebrity news, published in Madrid, Spain, and in 15 other countries, with local editions in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru ...
'' magazine and then hosting a press conference for the general media. She revealed that she had lost her senses of smell and taste, still suffered from headaches, and was scheduled to undergo further surgery, but that she was open to a future return to racing if she were to be granted a licence, and that she also wished to become involved in promoting safety improvements in motorsport. She released a computer graphic which showed the extent of her initial cranial injuries. In 2015, an official report compiled by the
Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...
concluded that De Villota had not received full guidance on how to stop the car, and was caught out by its anti-stall system, which activated as she attempted to brake to a standstill and pushed the car forward into the tail-lift of the team's service truck.


Personal life

De Villota married Rodrigo García Millán, a personal trainer and owner of Oxigeno Training, on 28 July 2013 in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, less than three months before her death.


Death

On the morning of 11 October 2013, exactly one year from her first public appearance after her testing accident, Spanish media reported that De Villota, aged 33, had been found dead in her Seville hotel room;
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
reported that her family had confirmed her death. An autopsy confirmed De Villota had suffered a
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
. While her death was initially reported to be by "absolutely natural causes", according to a statement released by her family, a forensic doctor later found that De Villota's death was a consequence of neurological injuries suffered in her F1 testing crash the previous year. At the time of her death, De Villota was scheduled to participate as a speaker at the Seville ''Fundación Lo Que De Verdad Importa'' (LQDVI) conference and was due to launch her autobiography ''Life Is a Gift'' on 14 October. Her remains were cremated on 12 October 2013 in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
. A minute's silence was held for her before the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix on 13 October.


Legacy

The Circuito del Jarama has organised two tributes to her. On 5 July 2017, the final turn on the circuit that leads to the pit straight was named Curva María de Villota in her memory. The circuit since 2014 organised an annual Christmas Eve foot race at the circuit, the María de Villota 10km and 5km, as a fundraiser. A foundation called Maria de Villota's Legacy (''Legado María de Villota'') was created in 2014 by the Young Sport Foundation in her memory. This foundation includes the First Star Project, which provides treatment to children with genetic neuromuscular illnesses. Formula One driver Carlos Sainz Jr., who was mentored by de Villota while karting, carries de Villota's star on his helmets and was named Ambassador of Maria de Villota's Legacy in 2016.


Books

* ''La vida es un regalo'' ("''Life Is a Gift''", 2013)


Decorations

* Golden Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit (''Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo'', 29/10/2013).Royal Order of the Sports Merit
.


Motorsports career results


Grand-Am Series


World Touring Car Championship

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Euroseries 3000

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Superleague Formula

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) † Non Championship round


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villota, Maria de 2013 deaths Racing drivers from Madrid Spanish racing drivers Spanish female racing drivers Euroformula Open Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Auto GP drivers Formula Palmer Audi drivers Superleague Formula drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers Superstars Series drivers Spanish autobiographers Women autobiographers Neurological disease deaths in Spain Racing Engineering drivers De Villota Motorsport drivers Alan Docking Racing drivers 1979 births Ferrari Challenge drivers Eyepatch wearers