Wilson to have British funeral next week

MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - The funeral of IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, who died last month after a crash at Pennsylvania's Pocono Raceway, will be held near the Silverstone circuit in his native Britain next Thursday.

(Reuters)

A statement on his personal website said the Sept. 10 funeral would be held at Paulerspury, a small village some 12 km from Milton Keynes, with family and friends then invited to Silverstone.

Wilson raced in Formula One in 2003 for Minardi, now Toro Rosso, and the Milton Keynes-based Jaguar team that became Red Bull Racing.

Formula One teams and drivers have been remembering the popular driver, a fierce competitor whose nickname 'Badass' was the complete opposite of his friendly and gentle demeanour outside the cockpit, at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

His death, after being hit on the helmet by flying debris, has also revived calls for closed cockpits in IndyCar and Formula One.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Justin Palmer)