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Deadly crash stirs off-road racing debate

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Reporting from Lucerne Valley, Calif. — Fans of desert racing say nothing beats the danger, dust and noise of watching 3,500-pound trucks roaring past — close enough almost to touch — and then rocketing into the air over treacherous jumps with nicknames like “the rock pile.”

The off-road derbies, which occur in remote stretches of the Mojave Desert, draw thousands and exist a world apart from the urban sprawl of Southern California. There are no guardrails, no enforced rules and no police to hold spectators back as they lean over the track with cellphones, snapping photos of oncoming trucks.

The excitement turned tragic Saturday night, when a racer at the California 200 east of Lucerne Valley lost control of his vehicle at a jump and sailed into a crowd of spectators who had edged steadily closer to the raceway. Eight people were killed as the vehicle rolled on top of them, and five others were seriously injured.

On Sunday, both avid off-roaders and opponents of the sport criticized the lack of safety precautions. Some blamed the promoter of the 200-mile nighttime race for allowing spectators to get so close, while others singled out the federal Bureau of Land Management for sanctioning such events and fostering a “Mad Max” environment that was bound to turn deadly.

Full story: Deadly crash stirs off-road racing debate – latimes.com