By Gary Watkins on, Crain News Service
BRISBANE, Australia (Oct. 15, 2013) — Porsche Supercup championship leader and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) racer Sean Edwards was killed today in a track-day accident in Australia.
The 26-year-old Briton was killed instantly on Oct. 15 when the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car in which he was tutoring a local driver from the passenger seat hit the barriers at the Queensland Raceway near Brisbane. The car subsequently caught fire and the driver, Will Holzheimer, was trapped in the wreckage for more than two hours before being transferred to a hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.
Monaco-based Mr. Edwards, son of 1970s Formula 1 driver Guy Edwards, was enjoying his most successful season to date. As well as starring in the F1-supporting Supercup with the Project 1 team, he had won the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Dubai, both driving a Mercedes SLS AMG. He also had race victories to his name in the GTC class of the ALMS with the Momo-sponsored NGT Motorsport squad and the Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany.
Mr. Edwards made the move into GT racing in 2005 in Britain after a two seasons of open-wheeler racing. The launch pad for his career was the FIA GT3 European Championship, which he won at the first attempt in 2006.
It was in the Supercup that he made his name and a career as a professional driver, however. Mr. Edwards had contested the series for five of the past six years and had won at least one race each season.
This year, he had won three races and never finished outside the top five. That gave him an 18-point lead going into the final two races at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi in November.
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This report appeared on the website of Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.