DETROIT (AP) β A hydroplane racer escaped serious injury when his boat went airborne and flipped during a qualifying heat on the Detroit River.
The Detroit Free Press reports (http://on.freep.com/1fzKOoL ) that Jean Theoret’s U-96 Ellstrom Racing Unlimited Hydroplane was exiting a turn and traveling about 170 mph when it lifted from the river’s surface on sunday.
The boat landed right-side up but suffered heavy damage.
Theoret said the wind and rough river conditions contributed to his boat going airborne and that his right hand was injured.
Theoret was leading the field during qualifying for Sunday afternoon’s UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest. The heat was to be re-run.
