Bob Copeman, part-time race driver, was killed...

Bob Copeman, part-time race driver, was killed when his car slammed into a wall at more than 100 m.p.h. during a qualifying run at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla.

Copeman, 48, of Aptos, Calif., was killed almost instantly when his silver Porsche 911 crashed in the first turn. Copeman was driving in a session leading to today’s 12 Hours of Sebring race for International Motor Sports Assn. cars.

Witnesses said Copeman went into Turn One--a wide, sweeping curve that suddenly narrows into a two-lane road--and struggled to control the car, never braking. The car spun 180 degrees and slammed into the retaining wall, crumpling the driver’s side of the car.

The impact knocked one piece of the wall back about a foot and caused the car to bounce and spin another 180 degrees, coming to rest about 20 feet from the wall.

Copeman is the sixth driver to die at Sebring, and the first since Manuel Quintana was killed in 1980 during practice. Five spectators have been killed at the track. He is the third driver to die in an IMSA-sanctioned race.