The boat racing world lost a great ambassador to the sport on Easter Sunday. Veteran driver David Bryant died during the Taree Aquatic Power Boat Club’s Easter Classic on the Manning River in Taree, Australia.

Bryant, 44, was driving Dean Barry’s She’s the Culprit when the blown-alcohol-division, open-cockpit, flat-bottom boat flipped and ejected him at an estimated speed of 135 mph, according to a statement from the New South Wales police media unit.

Police said emergency services attended to Bryant on scene and he was taken to Manning Hospital where he died a short time later. The Mesa, Ariz., driver’s death was the second at this year’s Easter Classic. On Saturday, 61-year-old Australian racer Brian McCosker died when his boat flipped on the western end of the course. Police are investigating both accidents.

Glenn Banks, president of the Australian Powerboat Association, told a local television network that the club has had tragedies throughout its 60-year event, but has never lost two competitors in one weekend.

“I am in total shock,” said Sam Cole, president of the H1 Unlimited series, formerly the American Boat Racing Association (ABRA). “David was an outstanding guy and a great racer. He wasn’t afraid—he was a driver’s driver, you know.”

A racer for more than 15 years, Bryant won the Super Stock Racing Association series championship in 2002, 2006 and 2007, and collected titles in various flat-bottom championships. He also drove the U-10 Gregory Racing Unlimited hydroplane in 2007 and 2008, and was named the ABRA Rookie of the Year in 2007.—Jason Johnson

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