A 55-year-old driver is in critical condition after his dragcar failed to deploy its parachutes and sped out of control at a Darwin race over the weekend.
Former racing driver and supercars broadcaster Mark Larkam says the “vibe” is “really good” as the Repco Supercars Championship is about to get underway at Newcastle.
“If I sound enthusiastic it’s because I am, hand on heart this is a big, big moment for our sport,” he told Sky News host Paul Murray.
“We’ve never made a change as big as we’re about to see debuted here tomorrow on track.”
The live telecast of the event showed the nail-biting moment when parachutes on Kelvin Lyle’s car failed to deploy after the vehicle clipped a wall.
Mr Lyle’s car then sped out of control and hit a barrier at a speed of 250km/h before careering off the end of the track.
The crash occurred at the 2023 Darwin Supercars race, which was held at Hidden Valley.
Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin
Northern Watch Commander Senior Sergeant Brendan Molloy said the crash occurred about 10:50pm on Saturday night and resulted in Mr Lyle sustaining serious injuries to his legs and pelvis as well as a potential head injury.
“Emergency services were notified that a competitor in the Nitro Up North drag-racing meeting at the Hidden Valley Motor Sports Complex had been involved in a high-speed crash,” he said.
“Dragracer Kelvin Lyle was competing in the final Top Doorslammer race of the evening, after completing his run his vehicle clipped a wall.
“The vehicle safety parachute failed to deploy, resulting in the vehicle over running the drag strip through the gravel safety pit and crashing into the end of the barrier at around 250km/hr with the driver sustaining serious injuries.”
Mr Lyle had to be extricated from the vehicle with the assistance of St John Ambulance paramedics and the event safety officers and marshalls, Senior Sergeant Molloy confirmed.
“(He was) subsequently conveyed to the Royal Darwin Hospital,” he added.
The 55-year-old remains in a critical condition, according to a spokesperson from NT Health.
The incident occurred at the Hidden Valley racetrack, which is hosting the Supercars event over the weekend.
The Supercars event will come to a conclusion with the final two races to be held on Sunday.