OEM side skirt/rocker panel
 

this past winter i slid on some ice and into a curb and damaged my rocker panel on my drivers side really bad, my question is:

how hard is it to remove this rocker panel?
can i cover this up with a side skirt? or does it need something to screw or bolt too?

I have similar damage to my rocker panel (hit and run :tear:) and i did some research. It seems like the back half of the rocker panel, rear fender and rear roofline are one piece and the front rocker panel, front door frame and front roofline are another. This diagram might help clarify

HINGE PILLAR for 2007 Mazda RX-8

It is probably way to expensive to justify a new panel, so maybe bondo is your friend