British star driver Sean Edwards was killed Tuesday in a private testing accident in Queensland Raceway in Australia.

The 26-year-old, who was contesting the American Le Mans Series, Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland this year, sustained fatal injuries while in the passenger seat of a Porsche 996 race car during a driving instruction.

Edwards is understood to have been killed instantly when the car made impact with the tire wall. The driver was extracted from the car, which caught fire, and is listed in intensive care with life-threatening injuries.

“Our thoughts are with his family and we want to express our deepest condolences to his relatives,” said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche.

Considered to have been one of the best single-make Porsche drivers in the world, Edwards had already racked up an impressive CV in his short career.

He won the inaugural FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006 before graduating into Porsche Carrera Cup and Porsche Supercup competition and enjoyed considerable success, with Supercup victories each year since his debut in 2008.

With three wins this season, Edwards was the championship leader heading into next month’s Supercup season finale in Abu Dhabi.

He also showed his strength behind the wheel of other GT machinery as well, winning the 24 Hours of Dubai twice in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 and also picking up top overall honors in the Nurburgring 24 this year with Black Falcon.

Edwards began competing in the ALMS two years ago with NGT Motorsport, where he earned multiple GTC class poles, as well as a class win on the streets of Long Beach this year with co-driver Henrique Cisneros.

His efforts helped put the MOMO-sponsored NGT team in championship contention heading into this weekend’s Petit Le Mans.

Sportscar365 sends its condolences to Edwards’ family at this difficult time.