Four years ago the world’s fastest MX5 drag car and its driver, Lee Docherty, suffered a crash at the Sydney Jamboree which was the start of an extended hiatus from the race track.
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Now, Hill Top racer Docherty is preparing to make his comeback to the sport with the same car, the same event and at the same track where it all went wrong.
Photos: Sports over the Highlands
He will be competing in the Garrett Advancing Motion Sydney Jamboree at Sydney Dragway on March 16.
“When I crossed the finish line back in 2015 I pulled the parachute and it felt like the throttle was stuck," Docherty said.
"I turned the car off but then it went hard left from the right lane and hit the passenger side into the wall at what I guess was in excess of 200 kilometres per hour.
“The impact snapped the wheel off and damaged the chassis, bonnet, passenger guard and so on. The rebuild actually wasn’t that extensive, it was more money that was the real issue.
“My wife and I bought a block of land and started building a house the month after the accident and then towards the end of the house build is when I started toying with the MX5 again.
"We found out we were expecting our first child. Now we have two children and finally we are back up and running, although money is always an issue with toys like these” he laughed.
With four years away from the race track, Docherty expects some nerves will come into play at the Garrett Sydney Jamboree.
“That fact that I have been out of the seat for four years is definitely playing on my mind, but it probably won’t really hit me until the morning of or the night before that first event," Docherty said.
"I would stress and worry each time I raced through, so I guess technically it is business as usual. Hopefully we can make the event and then finish it with no issues.
“The car used to be pretty consistent and went well going rounds, but over the past four years the other cars have gotten a lot faster so I expect it might be a bit hard to keep up to start with.
“We were hoping to do a test day before the event to get a feel for the car and calm my nerves a bit, but we are having a ECU issue now because of a change we made to the injectors, so now I have to upgrade my computer. Not having any testing time will play on my mind for sure returning to the event at which I crashed four years ago.”
While some nerves surround the event, Docherty is still a big fan of the Jamboree concept.
“I like the Jamboree events as they are focused on sport compact cars like mine so you are racing similar style cars and the spectators have come to see those sorts of cars,” Docherty said.
“Also the majority of these cars still resemble mostly what you would see on the streets which I like – my car has all of the original body panels on it aside from the addition of the wheel tubs and rear wing.
“Another drawcard I think is the fact that spectators are able to come down and walk the pits and connect with the people and the race cars.
“As we look toward the event, I would like to thank my wife Anne-Maree for putting up with me and supporting me and the kids, as well as Pac Performance for all of the effort and support they provide and Tracy and Carl at Pro Image Refinishes at Bargo for the great paint job.”
