Regan Duffy set to make remarkable return to Manjimup 15000 after surviving near-fatal accident
The now Raceline Husqvarna Tdub Racing Team rider said he was excited about returning to the event in which he became the youngest ever champion, in 2019.
'It's always an exciting time, not even just for the racing, it's just a great weekend to hang out with friends and family,' he said.
'If I'm in Manjimup, I'm happy.'
Only three months after Regan finished runner-up in the 2021 Manjimup 15000, he was left fighting for his life on the floor of the Shrubland MX Park circuit, after he had been unintentionally run over by a rival rider in an opening lap multi-bike incident.
In the emergency helicopter on the way to Perth, Regan's condition considerably worsened as he sustained a traumatic cardiac arrest, causing a stroke and eventually a hypoxic ischaemic brain injury.
Recalling the incident in an Instagram post, Regan said his aorta had been torn from his heart.
'I'm led to believe I was brought back from death multiple times on that flight,' he said.
'One doctor told my Dad it was the worst flight in his life.'
Doctors performed open heart surgery in critical care at Fiona Stanley Hospital, with Duffy being placed in an induced coma. He awoke eight days later.
Within the space of a month, he was sent home with a stroke rehabilitation program to regain motor co-ordination in his left arm.
'I had many doctors and nurses baffled at how I had survived let alone not been disabled or have permanent damage to parts,' he said.
Just over 12 months after the incident, Regan signed with GASGAS Racing Team Australia to take on the Australian Pro MX1 for the 2023 season.
After his remarkable comeback, the reality of returning to professional racing in such a short timeframe hit Regan hard, suffering multiple setbacks throughout the 2023 MX1 season, that saw him finish a disappointing 16th.
Regan chose to sit out the 2024 season, focusing on building up his strength, and now has returned fitter and stronger for the 2025 ProMX1 season.
'It's definitely much better this time around and I'm happy to just be making progress without sort of going backwards every couple weeks due to a silly crash or something like that,' he said.
'I said before the season I'll just give me a bit of time and I'll see how I start riding. And if I start riding good then let's try and make something happen. And then I started riding well again, and all the pieces of the puzzle sort of fallen together.'
Regan finished ninth in the opening round of the Pro MX1 season in Wonthaggi.
'My main goal is just to get back to the old Regan, which obviously we've seen at Manjimup before,' he said.
'I just want to ride like myself, to be honest. That's my whole goal for this year.'
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