Action Not Watered Down As Jetsprinting Makes Splash Sport From Down Under Draws 7,700 To Playfair For Speedy Canal Racing

Donnie Vincent has a simple explanation for the appeal of jetsprint racing.

“There ain’t no other rush like it,” said Vincent, a 24-year-old navigator from Lewiston. “It’s like being shot out of a cannon - with control.”

A wild hybrid between go-cart and hydroplane racing, the World Series of Jetsprinting invaded Spokane Saturday, drawing 7,700 enthusiastic fans out to Playfair Racetrack Saturday to witness a sport never before seen in Spokane.

First popularized in Australia and New Zealand, jetsprinting takes tiny boats packed with more horsepower than a sports car and sends them skittering through a track filled with water not much deeper than a bathtub.

The two-person boats are propelled by methanol and airplane fuel and reach speeds up to 70 mph, all by forcing water out of a rear nozzle.

As they roared through the 2 million gallons of water pumped into the channels cut in Playfair’s infield, the boats sent up huge plumes of water, occasionally drenching the crowd.

Not that the fans minded.

Armed with binoculars, lawn chairs and beer, they roared their appreciation for fast times, big waves and spectacular crashes. At least two luckless racers were hospitalized.

Buzz and Edie Basso were camped out on Playfair’s dirt track, watching with their grandson.

“Anything that’s fast and furious, we enjoy it,” Edie said.

While impressed with the throng, which filled the race track’s grandstand and backed up traffic onto Sprague Avenue, Buzz said he wasn’t surprised by the turnout.

“It’s the boats, the water, the chaos,” Buzz said. “And it has something to do with Australia. It’s foreign to us.”

The spirit of international goodwill was in evidence throughout the day. The anthems of Australia and New Zealand were sung along with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the public address duties were handled by a Crocodile Dundee sound-a-like and the crowd cheered for boats representing all nations.

For many of the Australians and New Zealanders, it was their first trip to the United States, and they were impressed with both the country and the race course.

“It’s one of the top facilities in the world,” said Rodney Pohio, a four-time national champion in New Zealand, where fans usually sit on earth berms to watch the action.

While Americans have been jetsprinting for about 10 years, this is the first year this country has been included in the world series.

And while the crowd wasn’t overly nationalistic, pride was on the line for some American teams, who held their own at the tour’s first stop at Marsing, Idaho, last week.

“They came over here and just expected to walk all over us, and it didn’t happen,” said Vincent, who rides in a boat called Lickety Split with driver Gary Peters.

Pohio was slightly more diplomatic.

“Americans actually have caught on very, very fast,” he said. “They’ve adapted very quickly. They’ve looked at what’s worked Down Under, and they’ve adapted it.”

Because the relatively small populations of New Zealand and Australia mean even the best racers struggle financially, jetsprinters have high hopes for their sport taking off in America.

“I think it’s got enormous potential in this wonderful country,” said Jeremy O’Driscoll, a promoter and racer from Australia, who boasts a boat with a $100,000 engine.

“I think we’re going to look back at today in a few years, and we’re going to view it as very humble beginnings.”