John Hinds was an anaesthetist, an intensivist, a prehospitalist and a motorsport doctor in Northern Ireland. He was also a talented educator, a pragmatist and extremely witty. And John was a friend.

I first met John at the SMACCGold conference, after his "Cases from the races" talk and recorded a podcast with him and Brent May. As with many people at SMACC, I had had conversations online with him before I met him in person. My last contact with John was at this year's SMACC conference, in Chicago, where we chatted, amongst other things, about the Skerries 100 that he was providing medical cover for on his return.

John crashed during a chase lap and died in Beaumont Hospital over the weekend. His loss will be great and is felt by many.

One of John's core interests was leading a campaign to establish a helicopter retrieval service in Northern Ireland as part of a key investment in improving trauma services for its people. A petition has been started to drive this campaign forward in honour of John's efforts. There are a number of fitting tributes to John that have come out since the weekend, but securing this service may be a lasting legacy that mirrors the lives already saved by John and the motorsport rescue team that he worked with.

Dr John Hinds - Rest in peace.