Gary is totally correct, though I believe the "issue" goes far deeper into the realm of pilot safety than being able to "motor home" at the end of the day.

I personally know of several pilots who have, and continue to place themselves in "low probability", unsafe positions (i.e., locations where the "outlanding" would be a crash), banking on the iron thermal to save them should their gamble fail to pay off. At least one Hilton Cup was earned this way. The advantage especially comes into play in the remotest locations on earth like the Namib Desert, the Andes and yes, perhaps the Great Basin where even a no-damage outlanding can be essentially irretrievable. I recall that Fossett et al scavenged some parts from an abandoned AS-H25 in the Andes. Even in relatively benign locations like the Sierra Nevada/White Mt's. corridor, a landing only a 200 km from home but east of the Whites is likely to be an all-night retrieve.

Anyone who believes that there is no "courage" in an engine is deluding themselves, even if the reliability of the engine is questionable. Rock climbers are similarly fortified by placing points of protection that they know will never hold a fall. Even with the sketchy engine systems of 1st and 2nd generation powerplants, pilots were/are commonly placing themselves at greater risk than they would have without the backstop of a motor.

Every agressive X-C motorglider pilot I know well enough to share the "dirty laundry" with has a "saved by the motor" story. Like: "the motor finally caught at 10 ft agl on final to an unlandable field" or "I thermaled away from less than 500 ft over unlandable terrain in the dark".

It is not a level playing field and will get even less so as engine reliability and aircraft performance at high wing loadings increases. The FAI recognizes this via its records classifications and I see no reason why OLC should not do the same. Finally, I think OLC has done a great service to safety by requiring pilots to fly within FAR's and documenting suboptimal pilot behavbiors for all to see and learn from.