Grant Denyer: racing healed me

Grant Denyer has opened up on a few death defying crashes and how racing has helped heal some emotional wounds.

In an engaging, at times cathartic, chat with Greg Rust for the latest Rusty’s Garage podcast, Denyer also recounts how his employer Channel 10 contemplated announcing his death on air following a tarmac rally crash at the Lake Mountain Sprint in 2017.

“We came off the road at 160km an hour and hit a tree head on,” Denyer recounted.

“We sorta barrel-rolled and tumbled and came to a stop. Dale’s [Moscatt – his codriver] kneecap was up around his hips. He’d broken his back. I’d broken a few bones. I think the only thing that saved us was the fact it [his Lotus Exige] was a rear-engined car,”

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“It was the day of the Australian Grand Prix and I remember Channel 10 was getting word from emergency services that I’d been in an accident, that I was killed.

“[F1 host] Matthew White was facing the decision of do we announce this right now on live television or not?” Denyer revealed.

Denyer also recounts the difficult road to recovery after breaking his back in a Monster Truck crash in 2008 and how painkillers took their toll. A Postie Bike resto project and his beloved 1965 fastback Ford Mustang were good distractions during the low points.

He enjoyed one of his most successful seasons when he came back to racing following the injury scoring wins and finishing fourth in the 2009 Supercars Development Series but walked away from the sport shortly after to concentrate on his family and burgeoning TV career.

The Gold Logie winner went on to front the prime time Family Feud (and recently launched Game of Games) but since returned to GT and production car competition. It filled a void and he is arguably driving better than ever.

“I struggled with the idea of no motorsport in my life for a while. I didn’t handle it very well. When you dedicate your life to one particular aspect and then you remove it completely from your life… It’s like quitting smoking. There’s a massive withdrawal that happens. And I think that hole that was left behind wasn’t a very healthy one for me.”

Listen to the full episode of Rusty’s Garage with Grant Denyer here.

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