Moonee Valley Leader - DRIVE and determination have seen motor racing’s Marcus Zukanovic make a welcome return to the sport he loves after a major high-speed collision last year.
The 30-year-old, born and raised in Sunshine and now living in Niddrie, said it had been “a long road” to recovery after the brakes on his V8 Supercar failed at about 200km/h during a test run in March 2009.
Zukanovic broke his collarbone, two ribs and a leg in two places. But after extensive medical treatments including 150 hours in a hyperbaric chamber and surgery to insert a steel rod in his leg, he is back in the driver’s seat - most recently racing at Phillip Island last month with Greg Murphy Racing.
Zukanovic, who has been racing cars for 10 years while working at his family’s business Action Motor Industries in Sunshine, admitted to some nerves when he first stepped back in a racing car about nine months after his crash.
“My first drive back in the car after the accident ... the first five laps were very, very shaky,” he said. “(But) as the day rolled on, I just got more and more confident.”
Zukanovic has an impressive racing history, winning both the Commodore Cup and V8 Ute racing categories in 2006 and joining racing legend Mark Skaife as the only other driver to win two separate Australian titles in the same year.
He was also named the Confederation of Australian Motor Sports’ 2006 personality of the year. He said the plan now was to race at Bathurst this month - hopefully in the main race with Greg Murphy Racing, but definitely in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar series.
As well as Action Motor Industries, Zukanovic’s sponsors have included Midway Mini-Mix Concrete and Garden Supplies in Sunshine and Re-Car Truck Repairs in Mulgrave.
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