DEATH-DEFYING

DARREN AND LEAH DUBBELMAN TURN TRIBULATION INTO TRIUMPH WITH THEIR 2000HP RADIAL TORANA

- MARK ARBLASTER

FROM the near-2000hp turbo small-block lurking under the bonnet to the incredible attention to detail throughout, Darren and Leah Dubbelman’s LX Torana drag car is one of the toughest and most well-sorted radial rides around. But the couple’s journey to get the car to the track has been far from easy.

Back in December 2018, Darren was just 42 years of age and fit as a fiddle, and the car was 95 per cent built. But at 1:30 am one morning, he had a massive stroke and heart attack. Leah performed CPR on him for 20 minutes and the paramedics lost him a number of times while attempting to revive him. Amazingly, Darren eventually pulled through, but the incident left him with permanent damage and confined him to a wheelchair.

The road to recovery was long and hard, but the true love of his wife and the loyalty of real mates shone through to see Darren live his dream of getting the Torry to the track. His good mate Simon Graham (who drives the car now that Darren cannot), father Arie Dubbelman and friend Marvin Bridge spent the next two years finishing the Torana behind the scenes while Darren convalesced.

A custom-built trailer and new team golf buggy were just two of the many pieces required to make the dream a reality, but earlier this year Darren and Leah finally debuted the car at a Kenda Tires 660 Drag Radial Series round at Willowbank, with support from crew members Steve Cini and Andrew Odlum. The Torana went 4.60 over the eighth, without even a trip to the dyno – a world-class effort by mates and loved ones!