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The opening of the Offshore Powerboat racing championship ended in spectacular fashion for Australian duo Bruce Sanders and Colin Craven when their boat flipped on Lake Taupo.
The pair were competing in the Superboat Light class in their boat Red Bellies - a 28ft craft which reaches speeds of more than 160km/h.
Fortunately neither man was hurt - and even the boat came through relatively unscathed.
"There was a gust of wind as they were approaching into the corner and the boat just rolled," said course officer Paddy Lowry.
The Red Bellies team have enjoyed success in Australia, including six championships in eight years, but they came unstuck in the first of the eight round New Zealand championship - regarded as one of the toughest in the world.
The "Thunder on the Great Lake Taupo" involves several different classes of boats in a series of races.
In the Superboat category, defending national champion Peter Turner and co-driver Craig Archer took the honours in their brand new New Zealand-designed and built 1100 horsepower Phantom 34, Sleepyhead.
"It was an awesome day of racing with some 50 boats on show and about 5000 people lining the lakefront," said race media officer Bob Smith.
