Melbourne-based brokerage McLardy McShane has raised more than $70,000 for motor neurone disease research after entering two vehicles in the Daniher Drive “four-day road-trip extravaganza”.

The insurance and financial services group’s MD Don McLardy is a former president of AFL club Melbourne and a friend of Demons great Neale Daniher, who was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2013.

“Neale is a very special person – he is worth supporting, and the terminal disease he calls ‘the beast’ needs to be cured,” Mr McLardy said.

Mr McLardy led the Super Macs team – along with Meg Long, Kevin Teahan and Greg Campbell – and raised $51,000 to win the prize for most money collected.

“The event was amazing and the support and generosity of the insurance industry and wider community was just phenomenal,” he said.

The Daniher Drive left Melbourne on October 15 and traversed regional Victoria before returning four days later. The event raised more than $1 million.