News
Clements Seyler - SEF Winner 2019 at the SRO Awards
Thursday 24th October 2019
The Sean Edwards Foundation is delighted to announce Clément Seyler as 2019’s recipient of the Sean Edwards Trophy. The trophy, presented at the SRO Awards in Las Vegas this weekend, is awarded to the driver 21 and under competing in the Blancpain GT Series, who has shown outstanding attributes during the season. The accolade is designed to give the winner a career boost similar to the one Sean received when he became the inaugural champion in the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006 at the age of 20.
Sporting Director at SRO, Jacquie Groom, presented the award to Seyler at the annual awards ceremony, stating, ‘Clement came out as the best all round driver this year. Not only is he fast, but he has a clear vision, key listening skills and intelligence. Coupled with his ability to get the best out of the car, this places him as a top young talent to watch in the years to come.’
Seyler’s recognition comes off the back of a stunning debut season in GT4 Racing, where he and teammate Pascal Bachman were crowned the 2019 AM GT4 European Series champions. The duo, of team Street Art Racing, took the title by 19 points following a dramatic final weekend in Germany. The duo raced an Aston Martin Vantage in a season characterized by consistency.
Hailing from Luxembourg, the 21 year old is a former Karting champion in his native country as well as Belgium and Germany, and before the start of the season he had just five car races to his name.
The Sean Edwards Trophy was first presented in 2015 in the name of the former FIA ??GT3 European champion and previous winners include Ben Barnicoat, Jules Szymkowiak, and last year’s recipient Sheldon van der Linde.
We would like to congratulate Clément and all of the nominees on their fantastic efforts this season.
Nominees
Name: Benjamin Lessennes
Nationality: Belgian
Age: 20
2019 Record
12 Races
2 Wins
6 Podiums
0 Pole Position
1 Fastest Race lap
Season Highlights
GT4 European Series:
Monza – Race 1: 1st – Race 2: 1st
Brands Hatch – Race 1: 3rd – Race 2: 6th
Paul Ricard – Race 1: DNF – Race 2: 2nd
Misano – Race 1: DNF – Race 2: 11th
Zandvoort – Race 1: 4th – Race 2: 3rd
3rd GT4 European Series Silver Cup.
Benjamin Lessennes has only been in motor sport for three years and in 2019 he enjoyed a full GT4 season with Equipe Verschuur in the Silver Cup. He was the Benelux TCR champion in his second year and is a former top-level kart racer. Lessennes also has several Top 5s in the FIA World Touring Car Cup.
Name: Marcus Påverud
Nationality: Norwegian
Age: 19
2019 Record
16 Races
5 Wins
11 Podiums
1 Pole Position
0 Fastest Race laps
Season Highlights
1st 24h Dubai SPX, 2019 Pro-Am GT4 European Series Champion with Lucas Trefz.
Marcus Påverud moved from Karting to Racing in 2014. He is only 18 years old and has been racing in GT4 for 2 seasons. He is working towards racing in GT3.
Name: Nicolas Schöll
Nationality: Austrian
Age: 18
2019 Record
20 Races
0 Wins
4 Podiums
1 Pole Position
0 Fastest Race Laps
Season Highlights
4th in 2019 Pro-Am Category of the GT4 European Series with Jan Kasperlik.
20th 2019 in the Porsche Carrera Cup, Germany.
Nicolas Schöll was the 2016 European Karting Champion and is in the junior program for the Allied Racing Team. This year he was 4th in the 2019 Pro-Am Category of the GT4 #European Series with Jan Kasperlik and he aims to become a professional racer.
Name: Lluc Ibanez
Nationality: Spanish
Age: 19
2019 Record
12 Races
0 Wins
1 Podium
1 Pole Position
2 Fastest Race Laps
Season Highlights
13th in 2019 Pro-Am GT4 European Series
19th in 2019 Silver Cup GT4 European Series
Lluc Ibanez picked up regular Top 5 finishes during the season and was in pole position for the first GT4 race in Barcelona. Next year he hopes to fight for the championship and aims to be a professional driver.
Name: Tom Wood
Nationality: British
Age: 18
2019 Record
12 Races
0 Wins
2 Podiums
0 Pole Positions
2 Fastest Race Laps
Season Highlights
9th in 2019 GT4 European Series Pro-Am.
23rd in 2019 Oro-Am GT4 European Series
Tom Wood has been racing since 2016 and was Karting Prior to this. He has enjoyed a full season of the GT4 European Series with Academy Motorsport, driving an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
2019 was his first season in European GT Racing, having completed a season in British GT and two seasons in the Ginetta Junior Championship. His aim is to become a professional racing driver.
Name: Marius Zug
Nationality: German
Age: 16
2019 Record
19 Races
7 Wins
11 Podiums
2 Pole Positions
1 Fastest Race Laps
Season Highlights
2nd – 2019 GT4 European Series Pro-Am (5 wins, 8 podiums)
2nd – 2019 ADAC GT4 Germany (2 wins, 3 podiums)
Former winner of the junior ADAC Kart Masters – the largest kart racing series in Germany – 2019 saw Marius Zug make the move to GT racing. He is the youngest nominee for the award and has experienced a full season of the GT4 European Series with RN Vision in Pro-Am.
Name: Clement Seyler
Nationality: Luxembourg
Age: 21
2019 Record
12 Races
2 Wins
9 Podiums
2 Pole Positions
2 Fastest Race Laps
Season Highlights
2019 AM GT4 European Series champion with Pascal Bachmann.
Clement Seyler has a solid background in karting, being crowned Luxembourg champion three times. He also won the Belgian and German Championships. Moving to GT4 in 2019, he enjoyed a full season with Street Art. He has been chosen for the Aston Martin Racing Driver academy and is supported by the AMR Factory.
Name: Luci Trefz
Nationality: German
Age: 17
2019 Record
12 Races
3 Wins
9 Podiums
1 Pole Position
0 Fastest Race Laps
Season Highlights
2019 Pro-Am GT4 European Series champion with Marcus Paverud
Luci started out in Karting before moving to GT4. He has had a full season in the GT4 European Series with Leipert Motorsport in Pro-Am, driving a Mercedes AMG GT4.
It was not just the champions who were crowned in Las Vegas. Now in its fifth year, the Sean Edwards Trophy is awarded to a driver under the age of 21 who has shown outstanding attributes during the season.
Presented in memory of the 2006 FIA GT3 European Champion and chosen by the late racer’s mother, Daphne Mckinley.
The Sean Edwards Foundation are looking forward to next season already and we wish all the drivers and their teams every success.
Please race carefully and remember safety first, it is important to you and everyone around you.
At SEF we are always improving and looking to set new safety standards via education.
+ Latest News
» SEF Shop
