UPDATED: Veteran engineer Mathis succumbs to injuries

Open-wheel and sports car engineer Ron Mathis died early on Tuesday from injuries sustained in an accident on Sept. 15.

English-born Mathis was struck by a car while riding his bicycle home from work in Mojave, California and suffered multiple broken bones, internal injuries, and head trauma.

His career as an engineer and designer spanned a wide variety of series, and included two outright wins and a class win at the Daytona 24 Hours and two Le Mans 24 Hours podiums. But he was perhaps best known for his involvement with Audi during its dominance of the ALMS, in particular with the twin-turbodiesel V12-powered R10 (below).

Five-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro (pictured at left with Mathis, above), who became close friends with Mathis during their time together at Audi, said that the loss will be deeply felt.

"Ron had so much passion and was so well educated, he was so respectful... He has inspired my life," Pirro told RACER. "We haven't only lost a good friend, but the world has lost a very valuable person. Sometimes, because of his humble attitude, he was not heard as much as the ones who shouted and talked the most, but that's what made him incredible.

"He wrote the most amazing engineering reports for the team and filed every one of them by saying at the end 'Respectfully submitted.' That always touched me, because he was submitting these written pieces of art and he should be thanked for them, but instead, it was as if he was thanking us for reading them. Such an amazing man."

Mathis moved away from working full-time in racing after ending his involvement with Audi in 2008, and at the time of his accident was overseeing the design and engineering of the mechanical aspects of the XCOR Lynx suborbital spacecraft. He was also active in helping implement programs to assist young engineers in developing their skills.

A GoFundMe page has been created to assist with covering the medical expenses incurred during Mathis' hospitalization.

Mathis is survived by his wife Cindy and son Simon. RACER extends its condolences to Mathis's family and all of those he touched or influenced during his career.