World record-breaking daredevil and sometime Audi GT racer Felix Baumgartner has died after a paragliding accident in Italy.
The 56-year-old Austrian gained worldwide fame after jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere in 2012, landing in New Mexico. He set world records for vertical free-fall distance without a drogue parachute, and vertical speed without a drogue in a descent that was some 39 km, reaching an estimated Mach 1.25.
In doing so, he became the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent.
Baumgartner went on to race with Audi Sport in a number of major GT races in 2014 and 2015, scoring top 10 finishes at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2014 and at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2015.
Images courtesy of Audi and Red Bull
