Joe Shaw (Beefpie) - RIP

[BadBlood]

I am very sad to have to inform you all of the death of Joe Shaw (Beefpie). He was just 19. There is a thread in 'Grand Prix Legends' but not all of you will have seen that.

Joe's father, Malcolm has asked his friends to add tributes to his Facebook memorial site here.

The GPL thread is here

[BadBlood]

Guys,

I have been in contact with Joe's dad to pass on our condolences and he has said that anyone would be welcome at Joe's funeral. I am intending to attend the funeral which is next Wednesday 21st March. The address is: Christ The Eternal High Priest R C Church, 410 Brentwood Road Romford RM2 6DH

Cremation follows at South Essex Crematorium, Ockendon Road, Upminster, Essex RM14 2UY.

Any of you are welcome to attend as well.

If anyone wants to make a donation to charity in Joe's honour they can donate to SAFE at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1000870

SAFE is a support group for sufferers of Aspergers and there are some details on the web page.

Whilst this is all very much real life, Malcolm would be grateful to receive any memories any of you have of Joe.

Any thing you post here, I will collect and print out to give to Malcolm on the day. 

[Doni Yourth]

Good God!  I'm just absolutely floored at this news.  I can't hardly believe it.  I mean, I didn't catch the forum announcement and opened my email browser this evening to see a note from the group talking about Joe RIP.    Now I've come here to learn it's true.  Impossible.  Impossible.  I'm probably not saying things right and proper here as I'm in such a state of shock and sadness.

Oh, Joe.  I shall miss you so much.  You were a fine fellow and I really enjoyed our time together here with the UKGPL.

To his family and close friends, I offer my sincerest condolences.

Au revoir, Champ.

[Baab]

Terrible news, how tragic at only 19.  Up until a year ago or so I assumed Joe was much older... ahem slightly over 21 like myself (well 35 is only slightly older!) and on viewing his stats was surprised to find he was 19.  Indeed GPL appeals to a wide age range, my PSC team mate (not you Paul!) is in his 70s.

I really enjoyed racing against Joe, very fair, modest, but most of all fast.  In reality he was so much faster that me that I only kept him in sight for a few laps.  Sounds like he was similarly talented in real life.  I will miss racing against him.

Condolences to his family.

Bob

[EvilClive]

Although we at UKGPL race in a virtual world, with the aid of computers and the internet, the competition and camaraderie is no less than it is in real life. We are all frustrated race fans who dream ( or in some cases dreamed) of being a Jim Clark, a Jackie Stewart or Sebastian Vettel, but never had the chance.
One or two of our number managed to experience racing for real, both on 4 wheels and some on two wheels and Joe was one of those who could claim that he had "been there and got the T shirt". Joe was always very modest about his racing experiences and never talked about it unless directly asked.
Frankly, we were too much in awe of the way he burst into our world and was instantly racing on level terms with the few genuine aliens who regularly run at the front of our races, to worry about how good he was with a REAL car!! Some of us have spent years and thousands of miles of virtual practice and are still nowhere near the pace that Joe showed in GPL
 
New friends are made in the UKGPL chat rooms, friendly rivalries grow "on track" and there is a very real sense of a community. Often members take their on line relationship forward and arrange to meet the face behind the avatar and enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts. I would like to think that Joe would have been one of those who participated in one of our get togethers.
Joe was always a lively contributor on the forums and in the chatrooms and plainly enjoyed the pre race banter and the post race "excuses" for not winning..we made the excuses , he did the winning!!!
 
From exchanges in the chatrooms, I got the sense that he was a really well rounded guy with a great sense of humour, but had no idea of his true age ( I had him placed around late twenties, possibly just finishing University?) and was amazed to hear that he was only 19.

Maybe we at UKGPL only had the pleasure of Joe's company for a short while, but he made a deep and lasting impression on all of us both on track and in conversation. Although we at UKGPL have lost a fellow racer and good virtual friend, his family have lost their son and truly pleasant young man and our condolences and thoughts are with them at this time.
I am certain that we will always remember Joe and suggestions are already being considered within UKGPL to set up some sort of race series in his name, which seems to be an appropriate memorial for a fellow competitor.

R.I.P. Joe. One of the world's nice guys.

[Cookie]

R.I.P. Joe

It is a pleasure to have met you!
One of the rare occasions we met, I will never forget, it was in a 65s Funrace at Cerne's Wood where you took 2sec from my PB!
We had a prolific chat after the race.
When I read about your Ginetta Cup racing I was jealous...

Axel

[BadBlood]

Please make any further posts in the Grand Prix Legends topic here.

Thanks.