Dwayne McCracken is making the most of his new lease of life as a road racing team owner at the 2025 Isle of Man TT, just two years after being given six months to live.
The Northern Ireland man received the news that he had Stage 3 inoperable pancreatic cancer in June 2023, but after extensive treatment defied the doctors’ diagnosis and is now running the Lionheart Moto Racing team.
Belgian rider Julian Trummer has already ridden for the team at the Cookstown 100 and North West 200, before focusing on tackling the ultimate challenge of the TT Mountain Course.
“I went through a tough time with chemo and radiotherapy but thankfully I have come out the other side,” McCracken told BBC Sport NI.
“I’m 18 or 20 months down the line and I feel really, really good.
“That’s part of the motivation for this. I want people to see that you can come through a bit of a tough time and come out the other side.”
The Bangor man said his family provided him with all the incentive he needed to recover.
“I was told my prognosis wasn’t very good but in terms of treatment I just said ‘hit me with both barrels, I don’t care, I’ll take the pain, because I have a young family, I can’t be going anywhere’.
“The chemo regime that I was on was very strong and made me really sick but you have to have a focus and you have to have the end goal.
“There were times where I wasn’t feeling the best and I wondered if it was worth it but I just had to look at my family and I’d have taken anything.”
