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Dr Le has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to medicine in the motorsports industry over the last 26 years and counting.
That includes 16 years as Supercars’ permanent medical delegate, a host of international postings pertaining to both two- and four-wheel competition, and pioneering incident response procedures/tools.
His OAM also applies to the COVID-19 Honour Roll, which was instituted in 2021 for contribution, service, or achievement relating to the pandemic, having contributed to Erebus Motorsport’s medical project.
“I was really surprised and really delighted, and I feel honoured and proud,” Dr Le told Speedcafe.
“I started in 1998 as a volunteer at the Albert Park Formula 1 and have gone on from there.
“I’ve been really fortunate. I guess some of it’s being in the right place at the right time, but also that old adage of just following your passion and hopefully the money will follow, not that there’s a lot of money in providing medical services for motorsport, but the rewards are more than just monetary.
“I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world; I ran the Singapore Grand Prix; I was sent to Monaco Formula 1; for the FIM, I’ve done a lot of inspections around the world.
“It’s been great looking back on that, and just the ability to pass on my passion to all the other doctors over the last 17 years in the Supercars role and 26 years since I started.
“I graduated Medicine 32 years ago, so 26 of those I’ve been involved in motorsport, so I’ve been really fortunate.”
The Melbourne University alumni’s day job is running a company which operates two emergency departments in which he works in the Victorian capital while, at the race track, he is in the Medical Car for incident responses.
He has developed processes which have been adopted in various parts of the world, trained medical teams both locally and abroad, co-founded the volunteer Team Medical Australia association, and developed specialist equipment such as the ‘Driver Slider’ and ‘Universal Rollcage Hook’.
“I’ve had some critical incidents that obviously are really difficult but thankfully it’s been very few and far between, and I’ve been witness to the safety levels really increase in my years,” recalled Dr Le.
“It’s not all to do with me [but] a lot of my contribution has been making it not only safe for the driver but also the rescuers – medical team, fire, recovery – trying to make our processes as efficient and safe as possible.
“I know one of the Formula 1 delegates from Bahrain uses my flowcharts when he travels the world, so those things are really rewarding in themselves, and I’ve had the pleasure of making a lot of friends.”
That, according to the doctor, is what keeps him going in motorsport.
“The sport’s probably 50 percent of it,” he explained.
“The other 50 percent of it is being with friends and colleagues; people who have the same passion.
“You put up with a lot in motorsport – there’s politics in all levels of motorsport – but I’ve made a lot of friends.
“I get to travel around the country and see a lot of Australia – I’ve always tried to add a family holiday on the end of one or two events a year – but also just being able to pass on my passion and knowledge over those years.”
Dr Le’s lesser known achievements include being appointed the FIM International Medical Commission in 2004, raising over $110,000 to build the medical centre at Phillip Island to international standard in 2005, serving as the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix’s Chief Medical Officer, and presenting to the FIA Medical Summit in Valencia in 2010.
He stayed in Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic, with his honour in that area recognising his work on Erebus Medical and also information/safety videos.
A trusted figure in the paddock, and the general practitioner to the travelling circus that is Supercars, Dr Le will once again serve as the Medical Delegate at this weekend’s Darwin Triple Crown.
