Rally co-driver Michael "Beef" Park was killed in an accident today during the Wales Rally Great Britain, when his Peugeot 307 piloted by teammate Markko Martin slammed into a tree — predominately on the passenger side — during the race's stage 15. Martin was reportedly uninjured. Park, 39, of Newent, Gloucestershire, UK, had been on the championship rally circuit since 1994, first co-driving for Mark Higgins, then for Martin with the Subaru, Ford and most recently Peugeot teams. The race's remaining stages were cancelled, though calling of the winner was complicated by the tragedy: Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm withdrew, meaning Citroen's Sebastian Loeb would have retained his world title — had Loeb not deliberately threw the race in deference to Park, leaving Subaru's Petter Solberg as world title rally winner.
Wales Rally GB
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