Guinness Record targeted in honor of rally driver

Current record for longest parade of Subarus is 339 cars

By Jonathan Oosting
MLive.com

ELK RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Matthew Marker died before he could win his first national rally car championship, but family and friends are working to make sure his name lives on in the record books.

Hundreds of drivers are expected to gather this Sunday in Elk Rapids, where they will celebrate what would have been Marker’s 33rd birthday by cruising the streets in his favorite car — a Subaru.

Their goal is to break the Guinness World Record for the longest parade of Subarus, which currently stands at 339 cars.

“We’re not going to attempt it, we’re going to crush it,” said Kali Vasquez, Marker’s sister. “We have almost 400 cars that have pledged, and many already pre-registered.”

It might sound like an odd record to challenge, but Marker earned his nickname as the “organic mechanic” by using non-power tools and environmentally-friendly techniques to build, modify and race the Japanese cars.

“He bought his first Subaru when he was 15, and he owned over 50 of them” Vasquez said. “It was grassroots from the ground up. He built his cars with his friends. He had this huge love of Subarus, and that’s really all he drove.”

Marker began competing in local and regional races before making a strong push on the national circuit in early 2011. Along the way, he earned a reputation for his exuberant love of the sport and willingness to help others.

“He was amazing,” Vasquez said. “Lived life to the fullest. He knew he was going to die young, and he lived every day like he was going to die tomorrow.”
In April, 2011, as he competed in the Olympus Rally in Washington state, Marker’s car left the road on a tight turn and dropped down a 40-foot embankment, striking a tree before coming to rest on all four tires.

Officials stopped the race and emergency crews rushed to the scene. His co-driver survived without serious injury, but Marker could not be revived.
It was only Marker’s third race in the open-class series, considered the pinnacle of rally car racing, and he had turned heads with a pair of top-ten finishes before his untimely death.

The rally car community lost a promising young star, and those who knew him lost one of the most generous people they knew.

“We don’t want him to be forgotten,” said crew chief Samir Kaltak. “He really was a person who loved life and loved rally. I see the attempt as a phenomenal opportunity to put his name in the record books and have something that will stay there for a very, very long time.”

Kaltak met Marker in the parking lot of a hotel near Atlanta, Mich., on a race weekend in 2009. A long-time rally car fan, he introduced himself to several drivers and was content to listen to their stories.

By the end of the night, Kaltak was doing donuts in Marker’s rally car. Soon, he started driving from Grand Rapids to Elk Rapids a few times a month to work with Marker in his garage. Eventually, he became Marker’s crew chief.

Today, Kaltak and his wife race under the SubaRoots team banner that Marker founded. Marker’s former co-driver is racing his first car, and another friend is racing one of his old daily drivers.

“He definitely brought a group of very enthusiastic individuals about this sport together, and all of us are still tied together quite a bit,” Kaltak said. “We plan to stick together for a long time and honor his memory.”

The world record attempt is scheduled for September 16 in Elk Rapids. The parade will cover a minimum of two miles.