Two speedboat racers narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation following a harrowing crash at Lake Havasu in Arizona last Saturday. During the incident, their vessel somersaulted and soared through the air before violently colliding back with the water’s surface.
This terrifying event unfolded as the speedboat endeavored to shatter a 206-mph speed record on the lake during the Desert Storm Shugrue’s Shootout.
In footage of the incident, the high-speed white boat, boasting a staggering 10,000-horsepower, can be seen zooming across the lake’s surface, trailed by a helicopter equipped with an under-mounted camera.
The vessel appeared to be skipping like a stone when the front of it tilted just enough for the wind to pick it up, causing the boat to backflip completely.
The boat flipped multiple times while airborne. (Credit: Speedboat Magazine)
“It’s never something you want to look at when you’re out having fun as a driver, for sure,” Clark said.
Both Lee and Clark said windy conditions may have been a factor in the crash but also may have helped the two men onboard.
Lee told the station that when the boat cut the wind, it caused the vessel to remain airborne longer than if there had not been any substantial wind.
“You hold your breath, and you hold it until you see both racers emerge from the cockpit,” he said. “For the most part, uninjured.”
Since 1963, there have been 11 fatal racing crashes on Lake Havasu, Motorsport Memorial reported, with the deadliest occurring in 2018 when three people died when a boat named “Lickety Split” crashed.
Clark credited safety improvements for keeping the racers inside the vessel safe.
“Those guys are alive for one reason and one reason only: That boat was built not to come apart,” he said. “So, when they were sitting in that cockpit and when you look at pictures of the boats, it’s totally destroyed but the cockpit is in perfect condition. I tip my hat to Skater and the crew that built that boat because it saved that guy’s life, it saved both of their lives, there’s no doubt about it.”
