Powerboat racer crashed at 70mph, inquest told
Circuit Powerboat AssociationA powerboat racer was travelling at speeds of about 70mph (113km/h) when he crashed into a houseboat and suffered fatal head injuries, an inquest heard.
Brett Duncan, 51, of Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, had been on a practice run during an international competition on Oulton Broad on 24 July last year.
He was driving his hydroplane when he hit Jaki Beech's boat, which withstood the impact due to its steel frame. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Suffolk Coroner's Court in Ipswich was told that only six seconds had elapsed between Duncan leaving the line of the course and hitting the houseboat.
Peter Mantripp, vice-chairman of the Circuit Powerboat Association, said Duncan's boat had been running "absolutely perfectly", but he had not turned "as much as he needed to" to avoid the houseboat.
Technical expert Mantripp also described Duncan as being a "unique guy" who knew "everything powerboat-related".
He said there were not many people who "built their own boat, raced their own boat and did their own mechanics".
According to the coroner Dr Daniel Sharpstone, the boat "was operating normally" ahead of the crash and "there was nothing to suggest Brett was nothing other than his usual self".
On the first day of the inquest on Monday, houseboat owner Beech told the court Duncan had been looking left towards another houseboat before his hydroplane crashed into hers and "disintegrated" on impact.
She said she believed the sport was "highly dangerous" and hydroplanes should be stopped from racing on Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft.
After the crash, the Circuit Powerboat Association was asked by East Suffolk District Council to provide a report into what happened.
In July this year, the Lowestoft and Oulton Broad Motor Boat Club announced it would be cancelling its 2026 racing season.
It said it had not been given permission by the council nor the Broads Authority for on-water activities to recommence, but stressed the decision "should not be interpreted as the end of powerboat racing at Oulton Broad".
The inquest continues.
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