Porsche race driver killed in Qld crash

His father famously stopped during the 1976 German Grand Prix to pull another driver to safety from the burning wreck. But yesterday, nobody was able to save British driver Sean Edwards - the son of Formula 1 driver Guy - when the Porsche he was a passenger in hit the wall at Queensland Raceway, bursting into flames.

Edwards, 26, was killed instantly when the 996 series Porsche GT3 car ploughed into a tyre wall at about 210km/h. The professional Porsche driver, who was based in Monaco, was in Australia on a coaching trip and was due to fly home just hours later.

On his Facebook page he wrote: "First time to Aus, have heard great thing so looking forward to my two days there!" He had been coaching 20-year-old driver Will Holzheimer when they crashed. Holzheimer, whose family own Dellow Racing, was trapped in the wreck for three hours while emergency services workers cut him free.

Edwards drove his father's F1 car as he portrayed him in the Hollywood blockbuster Rush, a Ron Howard-directed movie about the rivalry between England's James Hunt and German Niki Lauda in the '70s. Guy Edwards won the Gallantry Medal for saving Lauda's life. Queensland Raceway chief executive officer John Tetley said his general manager Keith Lewis and senior official Mike Dyson deserved "hero status" for their efforts in trying to save the men.

"(They) got into Fearless, our fire truck, and managed to pull the car from the burning tyres," he said. "We have a trauma paramedic on site and he was one of the first people to rush to the accident.

"We probably used about 35 to 40 fire extinguishers and a 50kg fire bomb to put out the tyres." Mr Tetley said the crash happened on the final turn. He said the Porsche went straight through the bend, crashing through tyres and into a cement barrier behind. "They had to cut the car in half and pull it apart piece by piece to get to the driver. Emergency services saved his life."

Mr Tetley said Holzheimer's family were at the track when he crashed. Ipswich police Inspector David Preston said police needed to hear from anyone who had video footage of the crash. He said Will had suffered extensive injuries, including severe burns. "He is awake and is aware of what's going on around him, but has extensive injuries to deal with." The Forensic Crash Unit and Workplace Health and Safety are investigating.

- Reporting by Kate Kyriacou, Naomi Lim, Kate McKenna

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