Speedboat's 200mph record attempt goes horribly wrong after being caught by gust of WIND on Arizona lake

Daily Mail​

28-04-2025

A high-speed attempt to break records at the 2025 Desert Storm Shootout in Lake Havasu City, Arizona ended in a shocking crash — but remarkably, everyone walked away with only minor injuries.
Freedom One, a skater racing boat from Kansas City, Missouri, was flying down the course at over 200 mph on Saturday when trouble struck.
Wind gusts — reported to be around 30 mph — suddenly caught the vessel, sending it airborne in front of stunned spectators.
'We saw the race team proceed down the course, and they started out really well, nothing out of the ordinary,' Ray Lee, owner and publisher of Speedboat Magazine, told AZ Family.
'Then it was about halfway, three-quarters of the way down the course when we saw the nose start to lift.'
Video from the event shows Freedom One flipping multiple times before slamming back into the water.
The violent crash unfolded around noon, but somehow, both racers survived with only moderate injuries.
Freedom One Racing had set its sights on breaking records at the Desert Storm Shootout, an event where boats race solo to clock the highest speeds over a three-quarter-mile stretch.
'It's as fast as you can go in that three-quarter of a mile, and they have radar guns kind of throughout there, and one at the end, so you're really just racing against yourself,' explained Freedom One Racing Boat Tech Ryan Olah.
Olah said the boat was custom-built to handle extreme speeds: 'We built this boat to be a record breaker pretty much everywhere we go.'
Despite the harrowing crash, the mood among the Freedom One team was surprisingly upbeat.
'Today they've been in great spirits, joking around, a little bit sore and banged up, but for the most part they're happy,' said Olah.
One racer suffered a broken collarbone and injured ribs, while the other had a 'semi-fractured' knee, according to Olah.
The boat itself took a beating but is expected to be repaired.
'The boat can be fixed, it's all just parts and a little bit of time, so we were just glad that nobody had any major injuries,' he added.
Beyond their need for speed, Freedom One Racing is known for giving back to the communities where they compete.
Over the weekend, the team raised nearly $20,000 for local charities, even clinching the 'King of the Desert' title at the event — crash and all.