http://www.autowee...0501/WRC/110509995

Here's the skinny:

The crash occurred when Marker's car went off the road on a right turn, during the sixth competitive stage of the event, hitting a tree with the driver's side of the car. Medical personnel responded to the scene quickly but could not resuscitate Marker. The sport of rally in North America has not had a competitor-related fatality since 2003.

That last incident in 2003 occurred at the Oregon Trail Rally. That was also a very sad day much like this one.

this is always hard to hear about.

This stuff always seems to attract 100 times the negativity to the sport when they happen, too.

A sad day in rally.

In my prayers. It sucks when someone dies in the spirit of competition.

Eco freaks are gonna try to turn this into another Rim of the World failure.

^exactly.

The concern with this death isn't the econuts, but the detractors of the Oregon Trail Rally at its new venue in Dufur, OR will use this as ammo for their argument.

Also interesting fact with this stage of the Olympus Rally; during when it was a WRC stage, the WRC executives from Europe used to freak out at the fact that some residents along that stage would shoot or find ways to block the stage!

We had some psychotic french rednecks in Quebec block a stage with guns/bad teeth/etc.

We also had the Rocky Mountain Rally end 3 stages early last year because the roads were so snowy and muddy an ambulance wouldn't have been able to make it in if anything happened. This was in late May.