Levi Clarke #NVRLFT 324

Over 15 years ago we met Levi and Daryll at the racetrack in Queensland Australia, fresh to the sport of drifting... Since then, Levi has become so much more than a driver. 

A husband, a father, a role model and a good friend to so many, he was truely a part of the Hardtuned family and motorsports community as a whole.

You could always find Levi at the racetrack in his newest creation. Starting from the R32.4 from which the 324 number came from, to his Tokage sponsored Soarer, his Exedy sponsored pro drift S15 Silvia and finally his own personal passion-project, the incredible Pandemic 324 DriftRod. 

While he came from a humble background, Levi found success in everything he entered, competing in everything from Stadium Drift Series, Australian Drift GP, V8 Supercars Support Categories, World Time Attack, DriftMasters and more - winning multiple events and gaining respect from the entire drifting community.

Always happy to lend a hand, he even helped christen our new HardTuned warehouse like only he could; with some awesome shed skids and indoor tandems with our crew.

But the thing about Levi, the one thing he cared more about than winning, was putting on a show for the crowd. And man, what a show he could put on!

Even getting dubbed "Mr. Hollywood" 😂 and this definitely showed during The Pandemic. 

When most people were sitting at home waiting to return to work, Levi was there spending countless hours and late nights building his #324DriftRod to put on a show and bring smiles to faces, and we don't think even he knew how much this creation would do just that!

But to us, the best part about this car was not how much people loved it, but was seeing how Levi's face would light up when he saw a big flame throw from the exhaust. he was just a big kid at heart!

And for anyone that knew Levi, knew that more than anything, family was the most important part of his life.

At any event, you could be sure you would find Levi's father, Daryll right there in the pits helping out, making sure the car was working well and giving Levi pep talks.

But for Levi, the people he surrounded himself with, he did not consider friends. He considered them family also. And as a friend, you could feel that.

Illness

On the 9th of August 2022, after dealing with severe headaches for months and told it was likely due to stress or depression, Levi’s world was turned upside down when an MRI at the Gold Coast Hospital revealed his headaches were the result of stage 4 Mutant Astrocytoma in his left frontal lobe and would need immediate brain surgery. He remained at the hospital and had a craniotomy on the 11th of August to remove the tumor; Levi was told that they could only remove what they could see and there was a possibility of some leftover tumor that was invisible to the surgeon’s eye.

Whilst the removal of the tumor provided a level of relief, Levi was told that this type of tumor is typically fast-growing, spreads throughout the brain, is aggressive and prognosis is between 2-5 years.

Post surgery, Levi underwent 33 sessions of radiation & to date approximately 18 months of chemotherapy, all while running a business, working full time as well as taking care of his then 8 month old son Taj, who will now be turning 3 in December.

Initially unable to drive for the first 6-months post surgery, Levi has since made a full recovery at life whilst secretly battling his illness. He continued to run the family business, marry his beautiful wife Kristi, continued with national drifting events, and built the hot-rod.

During all of this, Levi’s treatment continued with the chemotherapy, steroids and several other medications and immunotherapy, all whilst having 3-monthly hospital appointments and MRI’s to try and manage the pain, swelling and growth of the tumor.

The most recent scan in May provided the Clarke family with the most devastating news - the tumor had grown significantly, as well as the visibility of a new growth. They were told that due to the location of the tumor it was now inoperable and they would be looking towards palliative care. The medical team had indicated that his physical deterioration might commence rapidly and over the upcoming weeks.

Finally in the early hours of the 8th of July, after two long years of fighting against brain cancer he gave it everything he had and fought so fiercely, he lost the battle but will forever remain in our hearts and minds as the true athlete, champion, loving father & husband that he was. 

Writing this article through tears and blurry vision, no words can express the sadness we are feeling, writing this article has been one of the hardest things we've had to do knowing our time together has been cut so short, but reflecting, looking through the archives of photos and moments we have shared has brought up so many amazing memories and i know that is what you would have wanted us to remember.

Levi, mate, we already miss you you so damn much but we know that wherever you are are already bringing smiles to everyone you are with and we will eventually meet again and come join you for some tandems in the sky.

❤ You always bro,

Loz, Luke & the rest of the HardTuned Team, and to Hannah for writing the kind words about Levi during his battle.