The mother of British racing driver Sean Edwards has paid tribute to her 26-year old son, killed while mentoring a fellow driver at the Queensland Raceway.
In an emotional interview with Britain’s London Evening Standard newspaper, Daphne McKinley said the nature of the accident came as a huge shock to Edwards’ family and friends.
“You expect it on the track, but not in that way. I believe it was the last corner of the track and the session,” Ms McKinley said in the interview.
“It’s a mother’s worst nightmare. It’s what you never want to happen, for your children to die before you. The loss to us is unfathomable.
“I used to go to all his races and we were very, very, close. I haven’t just lost a son; I have lost a great friend.
Ms McKinley described her son as an inspiration and “an extraordinary, intelligent and wonderfully talented young man who was loved by everyone”.
Ms McKinley believes the car slammed into the tyre wall and burst into flames due to a jammed throttle. Witnesses had apparently seen brake lights, however an investigation into the crash is still underway.
Besides being recognised as a talented driver in his own right, Sean Edwards was also known for his strong racing pedigree.
He was the son of former Formula 1 driver Guy Edwards who had pulled Austrian Formula One driver Niki Lauda from a burning wreck at Germany’s infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife in 1976.
The 26-year-old was also leading the current Porsche Supercup Championship and had earlier won the gruelling Nurburgring 24 Hour race in a Mercedes-Benz SLS.
He was rightly considered a rising star in the motorsport world.
Here’s a video of Sean Edwards at the wheel of a Porsche 997 GT3 in a VLN race at the Nurburgring in 2011.
