The Cannonball Run auto race will continue despite the deaths of four men today in a fiery crash of a Ferrari driven by a millionaire Japanese dentist.
Akihiro Kabe and co-driver Takeshi Okano died in Kabe's Ferrari F-40, and two Australian race officials - Tim Linklater and Keith Pritchard - were killed at a checkpoint.Reporters asked Kabe before the day's run began how it felt to drive a Ferrari flat-out on the highway at speeds up to 185 mph.
"There's not a word to describe how it feels," he said.
He owned four $540,000 Ferraris.
The Ferrari lost control and slammed into two race officials standing at the checkpoint, then hit two official cars parked nearby, police said.
The driver apparently was surprised by the corner, braking suddenly before skidding in gravel and ramming into the checkpoint vehicles, Channel Seven TV producer Richard Cunningham said after speaking with witnesses.
The Cannonball Run, which began Sunday, is an open-road race 2,360 miles across the Northern Territory, which has no legal speed limit outside the towns.
It is based on an illegal cross-country race organized in the United States in the 1970s by auto writer Brock Yates and other motor enthusiasts. The event was canceled in the 1980s before any injuries or serious crashes had occurred.
The Northern Territory Cannonball Run had 142 starters, including Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghines, Chevy Corvettes and Ford Mustangs.
The six-day race is being run in daily stages, with police and official vehicles clearing the Stuart Highway in front of the racers.
Kabe's Ferrari clocked the fastest time in trials at 141 mph.
Late today, organizers decided the race would continue on Thursday, despite the tragedy and warnings from road safety experts.
Traffic safety experts were surprised at the decision.