A heart-stopping scene unfolded on Lake Havasu on April 26 when a speedboat, pushing the limits in a record-breaking attempt, launched into the air and violently flipped.
Amazingly, both racers survived the crash and walked away with only minor injuries — a near-miraculous outcome given the circumstances.
The 10,000-horsepower vessel was tuned for an attempt to set a new speed record when disaster struck.
Speedboat Magazine’s Ray Lee shared his thoughts on the crash, noting that the team had high hopes of making history that weekend.
Fellow competitors say credit for the racers’ survival belongs to the engineers who built the boat.
The last thing you ever want to see is a crash, especially something as horrendous as that, said Jeff Clark, a fellow competitor and longtime boating enthusiast who has participated in shootout events for the past five years.
Clark explained that at such extreme speeds, drivers have very little time to react.
At that speed, it doesn’t take much. These tunnel boats are designed to ride on air, skimming over the water like they’re on rails. But if too much air gets packed under the nose, it can lift the front — and at those speeds, once that happens, you’re airborne, he said.
Despite the terrifying accident, the racers’ survival stands as a testament to both the boat’s design and the resilience of the speedboating community.