Photo by: Contributed
SCCA Pirelli World Challenge driver Roger Rodas dies, alongside friend Paul Walker in a Porsche in California.
In a brutal year in motorsports, the list of racing drivers who have perished behind the wheel has increased again by one, or two if your forte is nitrous oxide and underglow.
During a charity car show for Philippines relief, the pair of Rodas and Walker were driving a Porsche Carrera GT when Rodas lost control and crashed into a tree causing the car to burst into flames.
Both perished in the crash.
What makes the accident really rough was the fact that the accident occurred near the charity car show, one of the guests at the car show was Rodas’ 8-year-old son, who reportedly went to the wreckage and was held back from rescuing his father.Rodas drove a Mustang in the Pirelli World Challenge this year, and Walker, well he inspired a massive following of street racers from the Hollywood franchise The Fast and the Furious.
One can only draw some similarities between James Dean’s passing and this incident.
While I suppose Dean’s accident seemed more romantic in the age of no camera phone toting bystanders and no internet to spread the word like a wildfire, its similarities are two fold.The world lost a great actor and racing enthusiast. The world also lost a race car driver and businessman. Both accidents occurred in a Porsche.
Both left behind children and spouses, and the simple fact that the accident occurred as part of a charity event raising funds for those impacted by the typhoon in the Philippines makes it all the more tragic.
It may not have been in the heat of battle on the track, but both Rodas and Walker will be greatly missed.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments