Odor started out in rallying during the mid-1980s before switching to circuit racing, winning his class in the British Production Saloon Car Championship in 1987 driving a Peugeot 205.

He continued to drive for the team in 1992 and then enjoyed a competitive 1993 with improving results including his first pole position, podium and then securing Nissan's first BTCC win of the super touring era at the high profile Formula One grand prix support race on the Silverstone GP circuit eventually finishing sixth overall in the standings.

Following Nissan's withdrawal from the BTCC, O'dor switched to the German ADAC Super Tourenwagen Cup driving for the Nissan-backed BMS Scuderia Italia in a year-old Primera.

The close-following Altfrid Heger and Hans-Joachim Stuck managed to avoid him but Frank Biela's Audi crashed heavily into the driver's side of O'dor's car at 118 mph.

They were unable to open the door of the heavily damaged Nissan and it took half an hour before O'dor could be removed from the car and airlifted to hospital in Berlin.