Blind Australian man claims unique car record

The title for the world’s fastest blind person on a quarter-mile (402m) drag strip now belongs to an Australian, with Jamie Ruggier setting a new record in Victoria.

Mr Ruggier set what is claimed to be a new world record at Heathcote Park Raceway, about 150km north-west of Melbourne and just 30km east of Bendigo.

Aboard his brother Daniel’s modified turbocharged 13B two-rotor powered Mazda RX-3, Jamie Ruggier set a time of 10.32 seconds down the quarter-mile, passing through the finish marker at 208km/h (129mph).

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The previous record of 11.5 seconds was set in the US in 2023 by Sheldon Wilson in a Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock.

Mr Ruggier had help from more than just one brother, with his other sibling Justin – a previous winner of the V8 Kumho Touring Car Championship which feeds to Supercars – riding shotgun and guiding him down the drag strip.

To make the record run even more impressive, Jamie’s time was just 1.5 seconds slower than the RX-3’s personal best, with an 8.82 second/240km/h run recorded back in 2013.