Frightening crash part of wet, wild Day 2 of Detroit Hydrofest

[Ratickle]

A potential preview to how wild it could get happened when Brandon Kennedy, in the GP-25 Team H8 Racing boat, collided with Quebec’s Martin Rochon in the Roostertail turn in the third lap of the 2B Heat. Rochon was turned up-side-down in the water but was able to escape safely.

“We went into the tough Roostertail turn here, we were three wide and one boat had a couple-boat lead on us,” said Kennedy, a Delaware resident who has family in Clarkston attending. “Everything was good from buoy one to buoy two. Then my lane kind of went away and I got in the roostertail and then from that point of view I got hit by the other boat. It was a wild ride; a lot of things happen in this sport but getting run over is one I never want to have happen again.

“I’ve been up-side-down, I’ve spun out, and all that kind of stuff. But this one was scary, to just get in the tail, and I thought I was blowing over on my own. And then to get hit is definitely scary. We built a strong cockpit this winter for this new boat, and it definitely saved my life.”

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mo...-cup/89490360/

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The day’s races included a crash involving drivers Brandon Kennedy and Martin Rochon in Grand Prix Heat 2B. Neither driver was hurt in the accident.

Photographs appeared to show that Kennedy’s GP-25 hooked Rochon’s GP-77 in the Roostertail turn at the east end of the 1-mile Grand Prix race course.

The contact sent Rochon’s boat airborne, and the 32-year-old Quebec native’s craft landed upside down.

“My lane kind of went away, then I got hit by the other boat,” Kennedy, 24, said. “It was a wild wide. A lot of things happen in this sport, but getting run over is one I never want to have happen again. I was upset. You normally leave a little more room.

“It was definitely scary,” Kennedy, a Delaware resident who has relatives in Clarkston, said. “We built a new cockpit this winter for this boat, and it definitely saved my life.”

http://www.macombdaily.com/article/M...ORTS/160829673

[Serious News]

Drivers OK After Hydroplane Collision

DETROIT, MI) – A crash marred the Grand Prix series at Hydrofest, held in the basin near the Detroit Yacht club at Belle Isle yesterday. Three boats were involved in the incident, with two of them colliding and leaving one upside down.

Martin Rochon, 31, of Saint-Zotique, QC, was clipped from behind of the inside of turn 2 by the boat being driven by Brandon Kennedy, 24, of Newark, DE. Rochon’s boat was left over turned while Kennedy’s was upright but disabled.

Kennedy spoke to Tony Paul of the Detroit News after being checked over by the medical team.

“It was a wild ride,” he said. “A lot of things happen in this sport, but getting run over is one I never want to have happen again. As drivers, we’re not making millions doing this. We’re friends off the course. You normally leave a little more room than that.”

Both drivers were checked by medics and cleared.

Bert Henderson, of Brockville, was disqualified for cutting off Kennedy and causing the collision. Both drivers involved agreed Henderson was at fault.

For more on Hydrofest see the sports pages of The Square on Monday.

http://www.windsorsquare.ca/archives...ollision/95924

[Ratickle]

It was nerve racking to watch. Brandon Kennedy's boat didn't flip, and he was out almost immediately. Martin Rochon took a long time to surface from under his boat. Then, when the rescue boat got there, they loaded him in the rescue boat and we never saw him again until he was loaded into the ambulance.

Sure glad they are both okay.