Kart racer full throttle again after illness

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p2255-Brad-Connor By DANIELLE DeBRENNI
 
Former local Bradley Connor competed in the Brian Joy NT Dirt-Kart Titles in Alice Springs on the weekend, his first major race since having a surgery to remove a tumor late last year.
 
Connor, who now lives in Adelaide, has been racing since he was seven.
 
He was diagnosed with a tumor the size of his fist sitting right next to his heart: “It was an intense surgery. They had to crack open my ribs to get to the tumor,” he says.
 
On the weekend he was out again on the Alice Springs track with his fellow local racers who were more than excited to see him back behind the wheel.
 
He still has a long way to go before he will be fully recovered: “I’m still quite numb all down my side because of the nerve damage but this is something that the doctors say could either take six weeks or six years to fully heal.”
 
Connor’s partner Ashley Hanlon has played a major role in his continued recovery – but not without struggle.
 
“The hardest part was seeing such a physical person not being able to do all the things he normally loved to do, let alone walk properly,” says Hanlon. He says pain killers affected Connor.
 
“There was a time a few days into the recovery when you could really tell that he just wasn’t himself and that was something difficult to see.”
 
Says Connor: “It’s definitely good to be back racing again.
 
“I did miss it when it wasn’t around but I didn’t realise how much until I was able to get back out there and race.”
 
Our local racers took home some of the top spots over the weekend including:
 
1st Statesmans – Tony Connor
 
2nd in KT Twins – Andrew Pinto
 
3rd in Junior Heavy – Riley Greelees
 
The event attracted about 600 people from interstate to Alice Springs, and 44 local drivers competed. 167 competitors from 4 states are took part in the nationals which ended yesterday.
 
PHOTO by PHIL WILLIAMS: Brad Connor (kart # 2).
 
 

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