Mark Porter (racing driver)
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| Born: | October 2, 1974 Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand |
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| Died: | October 8, 2006 Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| Occupation: | Racecar driver |
| Spouse: | Adrienne |
| Children: | Flynn |
Mark Porter (October 2, 1974 - October 8, 2006) was a New Zealand racing driver who competed in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar touring car racing series in Australia.
His V8 Supercar series debut was in a Ford Falcon at Wakefield Park in 2002, and he debuted in the Bathurst 1000 the same year.
In the 2006 series, Porter was running third in the championship in his Holden VZ Commodore for the Hyundai-Hydraulink racing team. On October 6, 2006, while competing in a support race for the Bathurst 1000, he lost control of his car at Sulman Park at nearly 200 km/h. He stalled in the middle of the track and was a sitting duck when the rest of the field came roaring through. Chris Alajajian, in the Elf Commodore, connected with the tail of Porter's car. David Clark, however, in an effort to avoid the stalled Porter, slid his car sideways whilst travelling at high speed. The front right hand side of his car hit the drivers side door of Porter's car, crushing the side of the car in eerily similar circumstances to the fatal accident of Peter Brock. To add further coincidence, the crash happened exactly one month, almost to the hour, of Brock's death. The front right hand of Porter's car also hit the drivers door of Clark, critically injuring him. Marshals were quick to arrive at the scene where one, unable to open the driver's door on Porter's car, opened the rear door in an attempt to check his condition. Both drivers were unconscious at the time. The race was called to an immediate stop and all racing was suspended for 2 hours while police combed for clues as to what happened. Both cars were an absolute write-off, while Alajajian was able to repair his car for the second race of the weekend the next day.
Porter was taken by ambulance to Bathurst Base Hospital and later that day airlifted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney with serious head and chest injuries but passed away in late afternoon of Sunday 8 October 2006 as the feature race was concluding. Just two hours after the crowd was celebrating Craig Lowndes' win and on the day they farewelled the late Peter Brock, Porter's family issued a statement announcing his death.
He is survived by his wife Adrienne and his young son Flynn.
[edit] Trivia
- Porter was good friends with fellow New Zealand driver Craig Baird after driving with him in the 2004 Bathurst 1000 with Team Kiwi Racing.
- In the 2006 Bathurst 1000, Porter was to drive along side Dale Breade with Team BOC but due to the fatal crash on Friday, he was replaced by Micheal Caruso.
- Porter's nickname was Didley.
- In memory of Porter, Ford team Paul Cruickshank Racing raced under his number "111" at the Indy 300 round.
[edit] References
"Porter dies after crash", Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-10-08. Retrieved on 2006-10-09.
