I'm just posting this here so that it is easily noticeable for reference purposes.
I downloaded the game yesterday and started it up. I noticed that my GPU (factory overclocked GeForce GTX260) was making a whining noise. It's not the first time it's done this and I did the research when I first heard it and it seems to be normal. Sometimes the GPU makes those noises. However, this time it was a lot more noticeable than before.
Got into the game, in my second race and half way through it crashed. Solid purple/black texture on screen, reset button did nothing, had to power off and on again.
I had the settings set for 1680x1050 at high graphics settings.
I'd also noticed that the car rotation in car selection screens was too fast, and scoreboards scrolled too quickly. In addition, at the end of a race the guys in the vehicle were nodding their heads insanely quickly which looked rather funny.
After checking on here I found another post with someone who had had the fast moving heads issue and they solved it by turning v-sync on in the game's graphics settings. I did this and the fast scrolling, car rotation and heads was solved. Also, the noises from my GPU stopped.
I can only guess that my GPU was running too quickly and by turning on v-sync it limited the output speed. I had already dropped the resolution to 1280x800 and I've not changed it, but I have kept the high texture settings and am running at 2xAA but no AF. I've not had another crash, either.
So, if you have GPU related issues, the first fix should be to try turning on v-sync.
Hope this helps someone.

Thanks so much for this. The game was unplayable because it was running so fast. Now it's fine again. Tough game..v challenging

It sounds like your GPU was getting too hot.
Having v-sync turned off causing this sounds very strange.
Might be a good idea to play around with the fan speed if this happens again.

I first heard noises, albeit very minor and quiet ones, in Thief 3, and it seemed to relate to what was displayed on the screen at the time. Looking in one direction, no noise, looking in another, a very quiet whirring. Any change in viewing angle altered it. I did a little bit of research and it seems that many people with a GTX 260 (and other nvidia high-end GPUs) get this at times. It isn't the fan noise either. Some say change the settings in-game, others say ignore it, others say stick the tower under the desk where you won't hear it so much.
CMR2005 was different in that it made it very noisy. Changing the screen resolution altered it but only a little bit. Turning v-sync on, however, to fix the other issues also solved the noise issue. It's definitely related to what it's trying to display.
I'm not so sure about the overheating, though, as I'm running it in an Antec 900 which is a very good air-cooling case and I do have the optional side fan fitted to the case which blows over the GPU.
My thoughts are that because the graphics of the game weren't stressing it too much it was able to go much faster (causing the fast rotation, head moving, etc) but also meaning it's speed was making the whirring noises. V-sync, I imagine, forces it to slow down in order to synchronise the output with the monitor's frequency (60Hz) which is also an in-game setting.
The only other game which has caused it to crash and need a power off-on cycle is Left 4 Dead, which is well reknown for causing these "solid colour crashes", especially with the GTX260, and it's believed that in that case it's a software/driver issue.

Could be that it needs cleaning or it may need to be moved from a tight space to get some air flow. Do any other games have this problem?

Nope, no other games crashing and CMR2005 is not crashing now that I've enabled v-sync.
The machine build is only 7 months old and the air flow is more than adequate with my Antec 900 tower using the side window fan mounting.