Dan Cramphorn and his team were out of luck, and out of the points in Ukraine

The start of the 2010 P1 Powerboat World Championship in Ukraine proved painful for Team 26 and Blean-based pilot Daniel Cramphorn after a freak accident.

Cramphorn suffered a broken right hand and wrist after his boat spun due to a broken outdrive in the opening straight.

With the team failing to score points in the first race, they were hoping to recruit a stand-in driver and get off the mark in the second but didn’t have the spare parts to fix the problem.

Cramphorn admitted he was "gutted" for himself and co-pilot Kim Collins. He said: "One of our drives broke on the first straight and although we were in the lead at the time, we didn’t get very far.

"Once that went it caused the boat to spin and while I’m trying to hold on, I badly broke my right wrist and hand.

"We were doing 90mph at the time and when it spins the G-forces involved are insane. If I had been thrown out, I would have ended up right in the path of another boat.

"Our main competitors have got 40 points and we have zero so the first two races were a total disaster."

Cramphorn believes the championship is still within their grasp but knows it won’t be easy.

He said: "Pace-wise we will be the setters. We can still win it but must win every race.

"The boat is now in Malta where the next two races will take place. We have two completely new outdrive assemblies which are coming from the States and we are heading out early to make the repairs."

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