DRIVEN TO RACE
A DECADE ago, North Queensland teenager Luke Rosadi was an up-and-coming motocross racer lying in a crumpled heap in the dirt, never to walk again.
On Saturday, Rosadi was flying, reaching a top speed of 241km/h in his modified Holden Maloo ute at Springmount Raceway in Mareeba, smashing his personal best to record 9.31 seconds for the quarter mile.
If the time wasn’t a world record for a paraplegic in a street-legal vehicle, it has to be close, and the Halifax man is confident he will lower the mark further, aiming to post times in the low 8s or high 7s.
The world was Rosadi’s oyster as an 18-year-old, fresh out of school, in his first year as an apprentice boilermaker and doing what he loved best, riding dirt bikes (pictured). That world came literally crashing down in a freak accident during a natural terrain motocross event in Mareeba in 2010.
“I sort of went off a jump and got kicked, d, nose-dived, slammed d rotated my head and over my feet my e head,” he said.
The 28-year-old d said his spine was s crushed and he was instantly paralysed from just above the waist down.
The gradual realisation that he would never walk again was “horrific, life-changing, I never thought it would happen but it is what it is”.
Rosadi, who remains a keen outdoorsman — fishing, quad biking and four-wheel driving in the spectacular Hinchinbrook Shire — said that following the accident, he underwent three major surgeries during a prolonged six-month stint in hospital.
Upon his return home, he sold his bi bikes and car and bo bought his first repl placement vehicle, a ri ride-on mower to m mow the expansive fa family lawn and su supplement ab ability support his ty pendissi sion mowing the ad adjacent levees for th the Herbert River I m p r o v e m e n t Trust Trust.
His life changed again when he bought the Maloo V8 in 2013, building the drag racer up to what it is today with the vital support of his parents and sponsors Dawsons Engineering, Townsville Mechanical Services and Brinks Performance. That journey to Springmount Raceway on Saturday has not been without its challenges, with the International Hot Road Association not giving Rosadi a free pass because of his disability.
Once Rosadi began recording quick quarter-mile times, he, like other drag racers, was required to fit his car with a parachute and then a roll cage, and obtain an IHRA drag licence, which included the provision that he be able to show he could free himself from his vehicle in the event of an accident.
But that wasn’t the hard
Not even close.
He was told he had to stop taking Lyrica, a medication used to treat neuropathic pain but one that caused drowsiness. Rosadi said the pain from misfiring nerves was so bad it kept him awake until 2am to 3am most nights, but it was worth it to race.
“It’s good, it’s fun, it brings back all the adrenalin of when I used to race bikes,” he said.
Not having the use of his legs was the furthest thing from his mind when he was behind the wheel: “I’m normal pretty much when I’m in the car, I’m not in my wheelchair.” part.