Sean Lawrence Guy Edwards (6 December 1986 − 15 October 2013) was an English professional racing driver, whose career highlight was winning as co-driver the 2013 Nurburgring 24 Hours.[1] He died as a passenger in a private testing incident in October 2013, at Queensland Raceway in Australia.[1][2]
| Sean Edwards | |
|---|---|
 Edwards at the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany on the Nürburgring in 2013. | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 6 December 1986 London, England |
| Died | 15 October 2013 (aged 26) Willowbank, Queensland, Australia |
| Related to | Guy Edwards (father) |
| Porsche Supercup | |
| Years active | 2008, 2010–13 |
| Teams | Konrad Motorsport Tolimit Motorsport |
| Starts | 50 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Poles | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 7 |
| Best finish | 2nd in 2013 |
| Previous series | |
| 2006–09 2007–09 2010–12 2011–12 2012–13 | FIA GT3 European Championship FIA GT Championship Porsche Carrera Cup Germany American Le Mans Series Rolex Sports Car Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2006 | FIA GT3 European Championship |
Early and personal life
editEdwards was born in London on 6 December 1986, the son of racing driver Guy Edwards. He was educated at Wellington College and Cherwell College in Oxford. He lived and was based in Monaco.[3]
Career
editEdwards started racing at the age of eleven taking part in karting competitions.[3]
After gaining fourth place in the 2003 British Formula Ford Championship, he gained 5th in the 2004 Formula Renault UK, and fifth in the 2005 British GT Championship.[1]
Moving to Monaco, he then undertook drives in various years of the FIA GT3 European Championship, the Porsche Supercup (latterly with Team Allyouneed) and the American Le Mans Series (with MOMO NGT Motorsport).[4] In 2006 he won the FIA European GT3 championship driving a Tech9 Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup Car. In May 2013 he won the Nurburgring 24 Hours, his first major victory in endurance racing, driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 alongside Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Nicki Thiim.[1]
One of the first professional racing drivers to embrace Sim racing as a means of development and training, in 2012 he assisted with the racing scenes in Ron Howard's film Rush, about the battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 1976 Formula One season. The younger Edwards also portrayed his father in several scenes of the film, the latter being among the drivers who pulled Lauda from the burning wreckage of his formula one racing car during the 1976 German Grand Prix.[2]
Death
editOn 15 October 2013, Edwards was killed in a crash during a private session at Queensland Raceway in Willowbank, Queensland, Australia as a passenger whilst instructing Will Holzheimer of Dellow Racing in a Porsche 996 Supercup car.[1][2][5] Holzheimer was treated at Royal Brisbane Hospital for injuries and burns.[5]
Racing record
editCareer summary
editComplete Porsche Supercup results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Konrad Motorsport | Porsche 997 GT3 | BHR 1 |
BHR 1 |
ESP 1 |
TUR Ret |
MON 1 |
FRA 13 |
GBR 1 |
GER 10 |
HUN Ret |
ESP 12 |
BEL 1 |
ITA 6 |
5th | 96 |
| 2010 | Team Abu Dhabi by Tolimit | Porsche 997 GT3 | BHR 8 |
BHR 15 |
ESP 12 |
MON 10 |
TUR 5 |
GBR 12 |
GER 19 |
HUN 2 |
BEL 1 |
ITA 2 |
6th | 95 | ||
| 2011 | Team Abu Dhabi by Tolimit | Porsche 997 GT3 | TUR 4 |
ESP 1 |
MON 3 |
NNS 4 |
GBR 10 |
NÜR 3 |
HUN 3 |
BEL 6 |
ITA Ret |
UAE 6 |
UAE 4 |
4th | 140 | |
| 2012 | Konrad Motorsport | Porsche 997 GT3 | BHR 2 |
BHR 14 |
MON 1 |
VAL 2 |
GBR 3 |
GER Ret |
HUN 3 |
HUN DSQ |
BEL 5 |
ITA DSQ |
5th | 107 | ||
| 2013 | Team Allyouneed by Project | Porsche 991 | ESP 1 |
MON 1 |
GBR 4 |
GER 4 |
HUN 1 |
BEL 2 |
ITA 5 |
UAE | UAE | 2nd | 118 |
Complete 24 Hours of Spa results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tech9 Motorsport
|
 Sascha Maassen Leo Machitski
|
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | GT2 | 501 | 11th | 3rd |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 |  Prospeed Competition
|
 Abdulaziz al Faisal Bret Curtis
|
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | GTE Am |
180 | DNF | DNF |
Complete 24 Hours of Dubai results
edit| Year | Class | No | Car | Team | Co-Drivers | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | A6 | 4 | Porsche 997 GT3 RSR Porsche 4.0L Flat-6 |
 ARC Bratislava
|
Miro Konôpka Oliver Morley  Richard Cvörnjek
|
87 | DNF | DNF |
| 2011 | A6 | 18 | Porsche 997 GT3 R Porsche 4.0L Flat-6 |
 tolimit Arabia
|
Khaled Al Qubaisi Jeroen Bleekemolen Sascha Maassen
|
583 | 4th | 4th |
| 2012 | A6 | 3 | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG 6.3L V8 |
Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon
|
Khaled Al Qubaisi Jeroen Bleekemolen Thomas Jäger
|
628 | 1st | 1st |
| 2013 | A6-Pro | 1 | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG 6.3L V8 |
Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon
|
Khaled Al Qubaisi Jeroen Bleekemolen Bernd Schneider
|
600 | 1st | 1st |
Complete Nürburgring 24 Hours results
edit| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Team | Co-Drivers | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SP9 | 15 | D | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG 6.3L V8 |
Black Falcon
|
Jeroen Bleekemolen Manuel Metzger Ralf Schall
|
4 | DNF | DNF |
| 2013 | SP9 | 9 | D | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG 6.3L V8 |
Black Falcon
|
Bernd Schneider Jeroen Bleekemolen Nicki Thiim
|
88 | 1st | 1st |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "British racing driver Sean Edwards killed in crash in Australia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ a b c "English race driver Sean Edwards killed in Queensland Raceway crash at Willowbank". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Biography". Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ "Edwards Takes Lights-To-Flag Win at Barcelona". 22 May 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Race car driver Sean Edwards on coaching trip in fatal crash at Queensland Raceway". Brisbane Times. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Sean Edwards driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Sean Edwards's channel on YouTube (official)
