Fed: Water speed record holder launches new campaign
SYDNEY, April 26 AAP - The world's fastest man on water is heading a team attemptingto break his own water speed record, which he set almost 25 years ago.
Australia's Ken Warby set the record of 511.11kph in his homemade Spirit of Australiasuperboat on October 8, 1978.
Today he revealed he would lead the Warby team's attempt, but his son David would drivethe newest Warby boat in what is a very dangerous sport.
"It's been a lifelong ambition of David's to break my record and out of my three boyshe's the only one who's gone as stupid as I did," Mr Warby told reporters.
"Superboating has had a death rate of 85 per cent since World War II.
"It's a very dangerous occupation and not something you take too lightly ... you wantto do your homework."
The Warby team is looking to make its record attempt in southern NSW next year at BloweringDam, Tumut, where the existing record was set 25 years ago.
Mr Warby designed and built the original boat in his backyard with a 6,000 horsepowerWestinghouse jet engine he knew "absolutely nothing" about.
The new boat, currently seeking a major sponsor, will be pushed by a new 9,000 horsepowerunit, but is quite similar to the Spirit of Australia in design.
Mr Warby said he did not feel threatened by two teams, one British and one American,that are attempting assaults on his world mark.
"There's a couple of countries out there spending megabucks to try and beat the recordand there's been a number of people that have already spent megabucks and ended up killingthemselves.
"I'm not threatened by anybody. We started building this boat (in Ohio, USA) sevenyears ago and it's been finished for two years, before these clowns even got going.
"I do my thing and let the rest of the world work around it. We've got the proven designand now we are just going to take it to the next level," he said.
AAP rh/sek/ldj/br
KEYWORD: WARBY SPEED
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