BY KAREN BOSSICK
The popular Sun Valley Tour de Force No-Speed Limit event was cancelled early Saturday morning after one of the first sports cars given the green light to hit the gas pedal in the road rally careened off the road, ending up on th enorth side of the highway, according to one witness.
The driver and his passenger were injured; there is no word on the severity of their injuries.
The event had scarcely begun at 8 a.m. when the car crashed near the finish line. The dark Porsche could be seen zooming to the finish line in a thunderous roar when suddenly it careened to the right, leaving a pile of dust in its wake.
One car piece ended up in a tree; the car's engine landed in a field. Witnesses reported two air ambulances responding to the accident.
One witness said that the car may have let off the fuel too quickly, then applied the brake upsetting its traction.
The road was reopened about 9:45 a.m., according to the Blaine County Sheriff.
“Two people were injured and we are grateful to our first responders and safety team for their immediate action,” Event Director Whitney Slade told Eye on Sun Valley. “Out of respect to the situation we cancelled Saturday night’s fundraising event at the Limelight Hotel. We are continuing to gather information and will update the community when we can.”
The crash is the first major accident since the Tour de Force began. There were no incidents in its predecessor, either.
The event is a unique event like no other where drivers come from all over the country to test their sports cars on a 3.2 -mile stretch of Highway 75 that includes Phantom Hill near Cathedral Pines north of Ketchum. The highway is closed to allow drivers to test their cars within the realm of what they feel capable.
Winning cars have been clocked just over 230 miles per hour. Others clock at under 200 miles per hour.
Drivers are issued mandatory vehicle checks on Friday morning and all drivers must attend a mandatory driver’s meeting. The event also includes a Huckleberry Drive to Smiley Creek and back, a gala dinner, auction and comedy night, and a popular car show in Sun Valley’s Festival Meadows.
The event was conceived by Sun Valley Auto Club owner Dave Stone with the help of then-Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling as a way to let sports car drivers test their steeds against the backdrop of the Boulder Mountains while raising funds to fight drug misuse in the Wood River Valley.
A massive crowd turned out when bleachers were set up amidst the sagebrush and spectators were bussed to the scene.
Whitney Slade and Mya Blixen created the Sun Valley Tour de Force in 2018, using it to raise more than $1.9 million dollars for Wood River Valley programs fighting hunger, educating youth and addressing mental health. In 2023, the event raised $1.025 million for The Hunger Coalition, Blaine County Education Foundation, The Space and BCFirST, which offers mental health counseling for first responders.
The SNRA no longer issues a permit for organized viewing, but hundreds of people hike and bike up the Harriman Trail to watch the road rally from safe distances.