Will Hoy succumbs to illness.

It is with great sadness that we must report the death of renowned racing driver Will Hoy, a former star of sportscars and the British Touring Car Championship.

After a short illness - an inoperable brain tumour - the 50-year old former BTCC champion passed away peacefully at a London Hospital on the evening of 19 December.

Hoy's motorsport career began in karting in the late sixties and he first came to prominence in Clubmans sportscars, in which he won a hat-trick of titles between 1982-1984. Hoy then graduated to international sportscars achieving some notable successes both in Europe and Japan.

Throughout the nineties, Hoy was a leading light in the prestigious British Touring Car Championship racing for BMW, Toyota, Renault and Ford factory teams. He contested more than 150 BTCC rounds between 1989 and 1999, winning nine races and taking the outright title in 1991.

As a qualified chartered surveyor, Hoy combined his racing with a career working for Bernard Thorpe and then DTZ. More recently he had also started making a name for himself as a TV presenter providing expert analysis to ITV's coverage of the 2002 BTCC.

He will be sorely missed by his wife, his three children and his many friends and fans. A private family funeral is planned before Christmas and a memorial service will be held early in the New Year at a date and venue to be announced.

Crash.Net passes on its condolences to Will's friends and family.