British driver who played his own racing star father in hit movie Rush is killed after Porsche crashes into wall

Sean Edwards, 26, was sitting in the passenger seat when Porsche crashed

He died instantly after the car hit a wall and burst into flames

Mr Edwards was the son of F1 race car driver Guy Edwards

Played his father in Rush, who famously pulled Nikki Lauda from the wreckage of his burning Ferrari at the Nurburgring in 1976



He was the 2013 Porsche supercup championship leader



A British racing driver, who played his own Formula 1 star father in the hit film Rush, has died in a car crash.



Sean Edwards, 26, was a passenger in a Porsche when it hit a wall at Queensland Raceway in Willowbank, west of Brisbane, during a private test session this morning.



Mr Edwards starred in Rush as his father, Guy Edwards, who famously pulled Niki Lauda from the wreckage of his burning Ferrari following the Austrian's crash at the Nurburgring in 1976.

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Sean Edwards died instantly in a crash during a private test this morning. He played his father, F1 driver Guy Edwards in Rush, and is pictured wearing his father's suit and helmet and next to his original car Sean Edwards starred in Rush as his father Guy Edwards (left) who famously pulled Nikki Lauda out of the burning wreckage of his Ferrari in 1976 at the Nurburgring



Porsche said Sean Edwards, the Supercup Championship leader, was sitting in the passenger seat as an instructor in a private driver training session when he was killed.



The driver of the Porsche, a 20-year-old man from Brisbane, was pulled from the burning wreckage and is in intensive care with life-threatening injuries.



Mr Edwards was born in London, but lived in Monaco.

Inspector Dave Preston, from Queensland Police, said it had been a difficult operation to get Mr Edwards and the driver out of the smashed up super-car.



He told local media: 'The fire and rescue had to do extensive work in relation to extracting and opening the vehicle up sufficiently to remove him, he was trapped for some time.



'When I last went down there and he was being removed he [the driver] was awake and aware of what was going on around him.



Rescue: Local emergency services spent two hours extracting the driver - a 20-year-old man from Brisbane - from the burning wreckage, but Mr Edwards is thought to have died instantly

Tragic: The incident occurred on Champions Way just after 11:30am local time

Mr Edwards' family and his girlfriend Laura have not yet commented on his death.



Mr Edwards' Twitter page suggests he became engaged in the summer - Laura posted a photo of a diamond ring on the social networking site next to the words: 'Thank you #diamonds #areagirls #bestfriend.'

Only a few days ago she tweeted Mr Edwards asking if he missed being at home.

In his last post on Twitter he said: 'Time to hit Queensland Raceway today, should be fun, hope there aren't too many kangaroos like at Bathurst!' - a reference to Australia's premier endurance auto racing event last weekend.

Devastated: Mr Edwards and his girlfriend Laura in a photo posted on Twitter. It is believed the couple became engaged in the summer

Earlier this month Mr Edwards wrote on his Twitter page next to this photo: 'Saw @rushthemovie last night, really great movie well done @RealRonHoward you did an amazing job. Dad says the same!'

Edwards is currently leading this year's Porsche Supercup standings, a series which supports Formula One at a number of grands prix, with a double header looming in Abu Dhabi next month to conclude the campaign.

He started his racing career back in 2003 in Formula Ford, going on to compete in Formula Renault UK, British GT, the FIA GT3 Championship - which he won in 2006 - before embarking on his Porsche Supercup career from 2008.



British former Formula One driver David Coulthard has expressed his condolences over the crash on Twitter writing: 'Shocking news about Sean Edwards passing, top man and super talented racer, condolences to his nearest and dearest.'

VIDEO: Onboard the Porsche supercar with Sean Edwards in recent race



Horror smash: The 26-year-old was in the passenger seat when the Porsche 966 crashed at Willowbank's Queensland Raceway, just west of Brisbane

Celebrations: Sean Edwards at the Porsche Supercup earlier this year

Success: Mr Edwards had enjoyed a successful season, featuring victories in the Nurburgring and Dubai 24 Hours

Three-times Le Mans 24 Hours winner Allan McNish said: 'I knew his father initially from his sponsorship days, so I have followed Sean's career a wee bit closer than you would normally do.

'The tragedy of it is he was leading the Supercup championship after such strong performances through the middle of the year. It looked like he was going to win.

'Also, having won the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year (with Mercedes), I would say this was probably his strongest year in racing.'

The Motor Sports Association (MSA) said today it is 'shocked and saddened' by the death of Mr Edwards.

Family: The 26-year-old's father Guy Edwards, left on the track and right, with his wife Daphne and their son Sean who died today



World famous: Mr Edwards' father is renowned for pulling Niki Lauda from the wreckage of his burning Ferrari following the Austrian's crash at the Nurburgring in 1976 pictured here

A statement said: 'Sean was a hugely promising young racer who came through the junior formulas in Britain, before making a career in international sportscar racing.



'He is leading the 2013 Porsche Supercup championship and had won both the N|rburgring and Dubai 24 Hours this year.



'The MSA extends its deepest sympathies to Sean's family, friends and fans at this difficult time.'

Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche, said news of the accident 'has sparked immense regret at Porsche.'



(Edwards) has for many years been one of the most popular and successful pilots in the Porsche one-make race series,' Ms Kristen said. '

Our thoughts are with his family and we want to express our deepest condolences to his relatives.'



VIDEO: Porsche driver Sean Edwards overtakes in recent German race

