BRISBANE: Porsche Supercup Championship leader Sean Edwards died Tuesday in a crash during a training drive in Australia.

Porsche Motorsport said on its website that the 26-year-old Edwards, the son of former Formula One driver Guy Edwards, was sitting in the passenger seat as an instructor in a private driver training session at Queensland Raceway at Willowbank, west of Brisbane, when he was killed.

The car was being driven by a 20-year-old local driver when it crashed into a tire wall and caught fire. The driver was taken to the hospital and is reported to be in a critical condition with severe burns and broken bones.

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,” Kristen said. “Our thoughts are with his family and we want to express our deepest condolences to his relatives.”

Former F1 driver David Coulthard posted a tweet saying: “Shocking news about Sean Edwards’ passing, top man and super talented racer, condolences to his nearest and dearest.”

Edwards had told fans via social media he would be in Australia on a short visit before returning for the last two races of the Supercup series.

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.

Guy Edwards was one of the drivers who helped pull Niki Lauda from his burning vehicle during the 1976 Formula One German Grand Prix and had a long-time association with F1.

Sean Edwards had recently posted on social media that he was involved in the production of the Ron Howard-directed movie “Rush,” which was set during the 1976 F1 season.

Calls to the Queensland Raceway and chief executive John Tetley seeking comment were not returned. Domestic media reported it was the second fatal accident at the circuit in five months, with a 23-year-old motorcycle racer killed after a collision with another motorcycle in June.

Sean Edwards started his racing career in 2003 in Formula Ford, and later competed in Formula Renault UK, British GT and the FIA GT3 Championship before starting his Porsche Supercup career in 2008.

The British Motor Sports Association issued a statement Tuesday saying it was “shocked and saddened.”

“Sean was a hugely promising young racer who came through the junior formulas in Britain, before making a career in international sportscar racing,” the statement said. “He is leading the 2013 Porsche Supercup championship and had won both the Nurburgring and Dubai 24 Hours this year.”

Allan McNish, a three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, told the Press Association that he had followed Sean Edwards’ career closely and 2013 was shaping up as his breakthrough season.

“He was a guy who loved life, loved racing, loved cycling, was strong and fit,” McNish was quoted as saying. “He was just a really nice young guy who was making his mark on the sport, and socially a really good guy to be around.”