Three years ago, US Marine Staff Sergeant Liam Dwyer stepped on a mine in Afghanistan, receiving a number of shrapnel wounds, and losing his left leg. Today, he won his class at the Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge race at Lime Rock.
If that's not impressive enough, Dwyer, who won the race alongside co-driver Tom Long at his hometown track, only started in the CTSC three weeks ago at Laguna Seca. And that's while still undergoing four to five hours of physical rehabilitation, every day, at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
And if that's still not impressive enough, you are very difficult to please, but know that Dwyer also did it with his left leg prosthesis basically attached to the car itself. That's because he wanted to be able to race with as few changes to his Mazda MX-5 as possible, according to an interview he recently gave with IMSA.com:
The goal [has been] to modify the car as minimally as possible, while making it as safe as possible. I will be using a special prosthesis to activate the clutch pedal. My leg will be physically attached to the clutch pedal via a joint attached to a shaft on the clutch. When I pit, I will pull the cotter pin holding the leg to the clutch. I will be able to jump out and Tom Long will jump in.
Next time you go racing, you try to do it with your left leg attached to the car.
Congratulations to Liam, Tom, and the rest of the Freedom Autosport team. This is a huge win, and on this Memorial Day weekend, we salute you and every veteran of the United States military, along with those who were not fortunate enough to make it home.
Congrats again!
Photos credit: Freedom Autosport/Facebook