Mark "Didley" Porter (2 October 1974 – 8 October 2006) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

racing driver who competed in the Fujitsu

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move ...

series in

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. His V8 Supercar series debut was in a

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...

Wakefield Park Wakefield Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit located near Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after Charles Wakefield, the founder of Castrol. The founders of Wakefield Park, John Carter and amateur racer and former ...

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, and he debuted in the Bathurst 1000 the same year.

Racing death

In the

2006 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series The 2006 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series was an Australian motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the seventh annual V8 Supercar Development Series. It began on 24 March 2006 at Adelaide Street Circuit and finished on 10 December at Phillip Isla ...

, Porter drove a Hyundai/Hydraulink sponsored Holden VZ Commodore for the M-Sport team. Porter was third in the championship point standings after 14 races of the 18 race season, when the competition moved to the

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour ...

in Bathurst, New South Wales for a weekend of races in the Fujitsu and other series. During the race on Friday 6 October 2006, Porter clipped a wall, causing him to lose control of his car in a curve, coming to a stop sideways on the track, with his driver's side facing the oncoming cars. A number of cars evaded Porter's stalled vehicle before Chris Alajajian's car connected with the tail of Porter's. Driver David Clark approached the scene at then slid his own car sideways, with his front right side crumpling the driver's side of Porter's passenger compartment. Both Porter and Clark were unconscious and critically injured when the safety marshals arrived. The race was cancelled and all other racing events were suspended for two hours. Porter was taken by ambulance to Bathurst Base Hospital and later that day airlifted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in

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with serious head and chest injuries. Porter died in the late afternoon of Sunday 8 October 2006. He was survived by his wife Adrienne and his (then) two-year-old son Flynn.

Tributes and legacy

Porter had been hired by Brad Jones Racing to co-drive one of their entries in the 8 October 2006 Bathurst 1000 endurance race, the main event at the

that weekend. When driver Michael Caruso took on Porter's duties, the team added Caruso's name to the car rather than just replacing Porter's. The team also added Porter's Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series number, #111, beside his name on the Bathurst 1000 car. After his death, good friend and team owner Paul Cruikshank ran Porter's #111 at the next V8 Supercar round at Surfers Paradise. #111 was used as a memorial to Porter on the

Paul Cruickshank Racing Paul Cruickshank Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in several Sports Car and Touring Car categories. History While new to the championship in 2006, Cruickshank has run several cars in the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, Dev ...

Falcon up until the team folded in 2009. The Mark Porter trophy was awarded to winners of the Hamilton 400 street race until the demise of the event in 2012. Mark's brother Andrew, a former truck racer, contested the 2007/08 NZV8 series in the Hydraulink #111 Ford BF Falcon. New Zealand team

Super Black Racing Super Black Racing was a New Zealand motor racing team that competed in the Australian Supercars Championship between 2014 and 2016. History Super Black Racing was conceived in 2014 by Paul Radisich with the aim of forming a New Zealand team to ...

entered the

Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

series in 2014, using #111 as a tribute to countryman Porter.

Results

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

‡ Porter was killed in a support race prior to the event. He was replaced with Caruso.

References

External links

V8 Supercars – Media statement from Mark Porter's family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Mark 1974 births 2006 deaths Supercars Championship drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Filmed deaths in motorsport New Zealand racing drivers Sportspeople from Hamilton, New Zealand Sport deaths in Australia Accidental deaths in New South Wales