Latest news with #2025DesertStormShootout
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Nevada: Speedboat flies into air at more than 200 mph during doomed race
A shocking video shows the moment a speedboat flew into the air at more than 200 mph during an attempt to break a speed record. The boat then flipped over several times before slamming into a Nevada lake. The drivers of the speedboat, who were going by the pseudonyms John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, were trying to break the record of 206 mph at Saturday's 2025 Desert Storm Shootout boating event. Shortly after they started, their Skater 388 took flight on Lake Havasu. Footage showed the boat flying in the air before slamming back down into the water. Horrified onlookers looked on as the speedboat flipped several times, video shared by Speedboat Magazine shows. Fortunately, both the drivers survived the crash with minor injuries. 'They came to Lake Havasu earlier in the week intending to break the record here for the desert storm shootout,' the magazine's Ray Lee said, according to the New York Post. 'That was their first pass of the day and when they went over, the radar picked them up at 200.1 mph.' The drivers are racers with Freedom One Racing based out of Kansas City, Missouri. They were using the names of Hollywood action heroes Wayne and Eastwood in an effort to protect their identities. Another video, shared by Freedom One Racing on Facebook, shows the inside of the cockpit at the moment of impact. Fellow competitor Jeff Clark described the crash as 'horrendous.' 'My heart dropped when I saw that boat get airborne. It's never something you want to look at when you're out having fun as a driver for sure,' he said. It is believed that while windy conditions may have been responsible for the crash, it also ironically saved the lives of the people onboard. 'Best-case scenario, because of the wind, when the boat cut it, it held it up there longer than had there not been such substantial wind,' Lee said. Meanwhile, Clark said the boat's design may have saved lives. 'Those guys are alive for one reason and one reason only. That boat was built not to come apart,' he said. 'I tip my hat to … 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.' According to Motorsport Memorial, there have been as many as 11 fatal racing crashes in Lake Havasu since 1963. The deadliest crash took place in 2018, when three people lost their lives in a tragedy involving a boat called the Lickety Split.
Daily Mirror
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Horror as out-of-control boat hurtles through air at 200mph before smashing into lake
Horrified onlookes watched the doomed boat spin out of control mid-air and caught the horror crash on video - while the drivers tried to beat a 206mph speed record This is the shocking moment a speedboat was sent flying into the air at 200mph before smashing into a lake as it attempted to break a record. Horrified onlookers watched on as the doomed boat spun out of control mid-air across the Havasu Lake in Arizona while its drivers tried to beat a 206mph speed record at Saturday's 2025 Desert Storm Shootout boating event. The vessel had at first made a promising start, seamlessly zooming across the lake floor to a nearby audience who filmed the boat in amazement whilst sitting on camping chairs. But chaos soon erupted as the bow of the boat lifted up into the sky. Shocking video footage captured the moment the speedboat somersaulted in the air and was flung forward by the wind before it crashed back down into the lake. A witness told Fox News: "My heart dropped when I saw that boat get airborne. It's never something you want to look at when you're out there having fun as a driver for sure". The speedboat's drivers - using the pseudonyms John Wayne and Clint Eastwood - were hoping to make history on their 388 skater boat with 10,000 horsepower. The pair, from Freedom One Racing based out of Kansas City, Missouri, were attempting the challenge at the lake's Desert Storm Shootout. Publisher for Speedboat Magazine Ray Lee said the boat was travelling at a speed of 200.1mph when the horror collision occurred. He told Fox News: "It's a 388 skater and it's estimated at about 10,000 horsepower. Lee said: "They came to Lake Havasu earlier in the week intending to break the record here for the desert storm shootout, That was their first pass of the day and when they went over, the radar picked them up at 200.1 mph." "So they came to Lake Havasu earlier in the week intending to break the record here for the desert storm shootout. That was their first pass of the day and when they went over, the radar picked them up at 200.1 mph." Both drivers of the boat miraculously survived the crash and were only left with minor injuries. Since 1963, Lake Havasu has been the site of 11 deaths, including four personal watercraft deaths and eight speedboat incidents. In 2018, and accident dubbed the "Lickity Split" resulted in the deaths of two men, Brad Kloepfer and Paul Selberg - after their boat, named Lickity Split, crashed at speeds exceeding 150mph.
New York Post
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Wild video shows speedboat flying in the air at 200 mph during attempt to break speed record
Astonishing video captures a speedboat flying into the air at more than 200mph during a doomed attempt to break a speed record — then flipping over multiple times before slamming into a Nevada lake. The speedboat's drivers — using the pseudonyms John Wayne and Clint Eastwood — were attempting to break the record of 206mph at Saturday's 2025 Desert Storm Shootout boating event when their Skater 388 was filmed suddenly taking flight on Lake Havasu. The boat suddenly flew straight up in the air, slamming back down into the water after flipping several times in front of horrified onlookers, now-viral video shared by Speedboat Magazine shows. 5 The shocking moment a speedboat going 200 mph flies through the air before crashing in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Chance Gibson via Storyful 5 The racers were taking part in a speed record attempt when they crashed. Chance Gibson via Storyful Miraculously, both drivers walked away from the crash with minor injuries. 'They came to Lake Havasu earlier in the week intending to break the record here for the desert storm shootout,' Lee said. 'That was their first pass of the day and when they went over, the radar picked them up at 200.1 mph.' They are racers with Freedom One Racing based out of Kansas City, Missouri, and were using the names of Hollywood action heroes Wayne and Eastwood to protect their real identities. 5 The speedboat somersaulted in the air before smashing into the water. Chance Gibson via Storyful Further dramatic video shows inside the cockpit at the moment of impact, as shared by Freedom One Racing on Facebook. Fellow competitor Jeff Clark told FOX10 that the 'horrendous' crash was spine chilling to watch. 5 Miraculously, both drivers walked away from the crash largely unharmed. Todd Taylor via Storyful 5 Experts believe windy conditions may have led to the crash. Chance Gibson via Storyful 'My heart dropped when I saw that boat get airborne. It's never something you want to look at when you're out having fun as a driver for sure,' he said. It's thought that windy conditions on the lake on Saturday may have led to the crash — but ironically may have saved the lives of those onboard. 'Best case scenario, because of the wind, when the boat cut it, it held it up there longer than had there not been such substantial wind,' Lee said. Clark also praised the design of the boat for saving the men. 'Those guys are alive for one reason and one reason only. That boat was built not to come apart,' he said. 'I tip my hat to … 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.' Lake Havasu has seen 11 fatal racing crashes since 1963, according to Motorsport Memorial. The deadliest was in 2018 when three people were killed after a crash involving a boat called the 'Lickety Split.'
