- 44,185
- Blackburn
- Furinkazen_54
Seen a quote from one of Alan Simonsen's family today, who said something along lines of "Heaven now has the fastest GT team"
Porsche Supercup Driver Sean Edwards Dies
- Thread starter GTPorsche
- 96 comments
- 8,260 views
- 7,068
- UK
Seems the 2010s have been pretty bad in terms of death rate, I think the 2000s was better for the moment, it's very sad because we've lost alot of talented drivers and riders like Wheldon, Marco, Allan and now Sean, we need to put more effort into safety because now, things are slowly going backwards, the accident was caused partially because of the concrete barrier behind the wall, hence why the car caught fire.
Very sad and we need to get on top of things, 2 racers have died due to accident legacy/injuries it's very sad and I don't want to go through this every week. Especially when I'm a fan of Sean too so it's a tragedy for me. But we must all remember, Automoble racing is a dangerous sport.
Very sad and we need to get on top of things, 2 racers have died due to accident legacy/injuries it's very sad and I don't want to go through this every week. Especially when I'm a fan of Sean too so it's a tragedy for me. But we must all remember, Automoble racing is a dangerous sport.
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- 12,122
- Liverpool
- CARBOYXJR
Exactly what I was thinking. We must not let safety standards slip back, and we need to act upon things like this. We are at a point where deaths are rare, but when a driver is killed, the cause must be thoroughly investigated to avoid a repeat. I always wonder at street tracks such as Houston whether the track designers and safety crews take every effort possible making it safe, or just do what they think is acceptable and will probably hold up in their eyes. We cannot underestimate the brutality of racing accidents, so many tracks need to invest heavily in improving safety standards. Every time I look at the entry to the Spoon Curve at Suzuka, I can never get away from the sheer amount of run off area and foam barriers on the driver's left:
I think that has to be one of the best run off areas I have ever seen, as a huge effort has clearly been made in order to build up the foam blocks in the main impact zone - an excellent example for others tracks to follow.
RIP Sean.
- 2,186
- W-S, NC
- WillyTwoScoops
It's sad to see these racers pass away. I couldn't even guess what it was like on any of them, but sometimes the stars line up just right in crashes that seem simple too.
The thing is the safer we make courses, the harder folks push because the limit just got raised. It's a never ending cycle no matter how much safety is there to be honest.
The thing is the safer we make courses, the harder folks push because the limit just got raised. It's a never ending cycle no matter how much safety is there to be honest.
- 7,115
- Birmingham, UK
- GOTMAXPOWER
- 2,185
- Indianapolis
- GTP_ranhammerR34
- RadCoronet5651
Absolute horrible news. RIP Sean.
RIP Sean.
- 12,122
- Liverpool
- CARBOYXJR
Yes, for Super GT they move them elsewhere, but in F1 they were there throughout the weekend.
- 7,115
- Birmingham, UK
- GOTMAXPOWER
- 22,551
- Arizona
- HamiltonMP427
Sad to see this, he won the Nurburgring 24 this year too.
I also remember something.
Back in 1981, Guy Edwards and Emilio de Villota co-drove this Lola that year.
It's ironic both lost a child within a week of each other this year.
Now that you put it that way, it's quite creepy I forgot for a moment that Emilio lost Maria, still hard to come to terms and now this. Every time it happens you hope that they get out of the car it's quite sad.
- 2,998
- England
- Peasantslayer
- 24,460
- United States
- GTP_Jordan
- GTP_Jordan
I had the honor of meeting Sean less than an hour after he took victory at the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year. I had befriended a GTPlanet reader and professional motorsports photographer (Kevin) in the media center, and he was also personal friends with Sean. After the post-race press conference, I asked Kevin if he'd care to introduce me to Sean and grab a quick photo.
Kevin did, and I found Sean to be incredibly kind and humble. He had just won the Nurburgring 24 Hours - I can't even imagine what sort of mixture of elation and exhaustion that must feel like - and there he was, going out of his way to make conversation with me (some random guy he just met and most likely would never see again), asking all types of questions about where I'm from, my background, etc.
For something like this to happen to someone like that...it just hurts. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Kevin did, and I found Sean to be incredibly kind and humble. He had just won the Nurburgring 24 Hours - I can't even imagine what sort of mixture of elation and exhaustion that must feel like - and there he was, going out of his way to make conversation with me (some random guy he just met and most likely would never see again), asking all types of questions about where I'm from, my background, etc.
For something like this to happen to someone like that...it just hurts. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
- 3,585
- Phoenix, AZ
- GTP_Snaeper
It's a real tragedy that his life was lost, and another even younger driver's life is now at risk.
Looking at the track, I'm reasonably sure which part they were on, and it's not very pretty. If I'm correct, based on the images in the news reports, and the damage to the car, they were travelling down the second to last straight into the final turn before the front stretch. This straight (according to Google Earth) is about a quarter mile long, ending in a sand trap and a concrete wall protected by only two rows of tires. I reckon the car was probably moving at about 120 miles an hour if the brakes had been applied. If the brakes failed I'd guess it was more like 130-140, this assuming the driver was operating at normal racing speeds.
Obviously the tires failed to do their job, though I'm guessing there's not alot such a small amount of rubber can do in a situation like that.
The track (and others employing similar layouts) should re-evaluate this portion, possibly adding a chicane to scrub off speed and avoid a car experiencing a mechanical failure or driver error that results in another life lost or critically injured.
Looking at the track, I'm reasonably sure which part they were on, and it's not very pretty. If I'm correct, based on the images in the news reports, and the damage to the car, they were travelling down the second to last straight into the final turn before the front stretch. This straight (according to Google Earth) is about a quarter mile long, ending in a sand trap and a concrete wall protected by only two rows of tires. I reckon the car was probably moving at about 120 miles an hour if the brakes had been applied. If the brakes failed I'd guess it was more like 130-140, this assuming the driver was operating at normal racing speeds.
Obviously the tires failed to do their job, though I'm guessing there's not alot such a small amount of rubber can do in a situation like that.
The track (and others employing similar layouts) should re-evaluate this portion, possibly adding a chicane to scrub off speed and avoid a car experiencing a mechanical failure or driver error that results in another life lost or critically injured.
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- 422
- Eastern MA
- Odin_Wednesday
- 3,211
- Brisbane
- Punknoodle_Nick
QR National layout is definitely a high brake application circuit, as it has 2 big brakes for hairpins at the end of straights. You are on the brakes harder for turn 3, which is the first hairpin as you have a lot more speed coming in to that one. That is part of the appeal of the circuit, to me anyway having raced here, and I don't think adding chicanes is the way to improve safety in this instance, adding more run off area with more gravel would be the go.
This is definitely not the first time the run off areas for these 2 corners have come in to question, I remember not long ago a car ended up flying over the fence there.
This is definitely not the first time the run off areas for these 2 corners have come in to question, I remember not long ago a car ended up flying over the fence there.
- 11,660
- GTP_Orido
I would tend to lean on driver error, Sean was supposed to coach on the passenger seat right ? The Porsche also a company car that gives joyride at the track, the car won't be pushed to the max as it's not a timed lap for competition or a race, so most probably the driver made a mistake while learning the track ? , brake too late and hit the wall, of course it's only my speculation.
- 3,585
- Phoenix, AZ
- GTP_Snaeper
I doubt hitting the wall at 60mph would reduce the car to the amount that was left that we saw. I don't know where one would get stats for a GT3 Cup car, but the GT3 RS road car will do 120 in a quarter mile, and that's from a standing start with semi-street tires.
This was a racing car that was exiting a corner and then doing a quarter mile using that momentum to unfortunately travel headlong into a wall.
They need larger sand traps and more tires. That straight that they were travelling down is a death trap. Assuming that car was going 60mph, then what would that accident have looked like if it was going racing speeds and suffered a brake failure?
- 3,211
- Brisbane
- Punknoodle_Nick
Please don't speculate until the facts are known, the 20 year old's name is Will Holzheimer, he runs this Porsche regularly at the track, the car, along with an identical one I believe, is owned by his family. While it may have been driver error, I don't think it would have been blatant incompetence and I don't think it's fair that there are speculations happening without facts. Regardless, the guy is in hospital with serious injuries and he is going to be going through emotional hell knowing that his passenger has died. The investigation is in progress and we will know the cause soon enough.
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