An investigation following a fatal crash during last year’s Sprint Nationals speedboat race in Long Beach found that the current configuration of the race and other protocols created an unsafe environment for drivers and spectators, leading to the city to deny a permit for this year’s race that was scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 6 at Marine Stadium.
The rock-lined straightaway of Marine Stadium, sandwiched between Colorado Lagoon and Naples Island, has been home to the race for decades. However, the race has been marred by the deaths of two drivers since 2018. After a driver was ejected from his boat and died after the August 2021 race, the city launched an investigation, which found that the lapping of waves off the rocks and back into the path of travel, among other things, was creating unsafe racing conditions.
The 2021 crash was caused by a high rate of speed and the wake caused by the boats being directed back into the path of the boats by the narrow stadium, which caused the driver to lose control and collide with another racer before being ejected at over 110 miles per hour, according to a city investigation.
A memo posted to the city’s website Monday said the investigation concluded that speed, proximity to vessels, unstable water conditions and limited ability to steer the boats made it difficult to avoid the deadly crash last year, and could have contributed to another in 2018.
A letter from City Manager Tom Modica to Ross Wallach, president of the Southern California Speedboat Club, which organizes the race, said the August crash could have been much worse.
“Based on first-hand public safety personnel accounts and video, the unattended vessel continued at a high rate of speed, only overturning after hitting a wake,” Modica wrote. “Had the vessel not overturned, it may have continued toward the spectating public with no physical barrier preventing impact.”
Modica said the application for this year’s race had been denied, noting that similar circumstances led to the deadly 2018 crash that left another racer dead. While responding to that crash, emergency crews had to board the driver’s boat and stop the accelerator that remained depressed, Modica said.
The boat could have continued toward the swimming area of Mother’s Beach and posed a danger to people swimming in the water or standing on the beach, according to city officials.
Modica said in a text message Monday that the organization can appeal the city’s finding, something that would have to happen in the next 60 days, but it’s unclear if the appeal, or any changes that could satisfy the city’s concern for safety can be worked out in time for the August race.
Wallach said he’s tried unsuccessfully for months to secure a meeting with the city since the deadly 2021 crash to lay out some of the safety changes the club is proposing to make the 2022 race safer for everyone. These include cutting down the number of boats allowed in each heat from six to four, banning open cockpit boats from racing against closed cockpit boats and requiring all boats that go over 105 miles per hour to have closed cockpits.
Since the 2018 crash, the race has also extended some barriers alongside the course to better protect spectators and beachgoers and added additional lifeguard boats to patrol the area during the races.
While Wallach acknowledged that drivers know that speedboat racing is an inherently dangerous activity, no member of the public has been hurt or sued the city or the club in his more than 20 years of organizing the race. He denied some of the more serious allegations that the two boat crashes could have endangered race spectators.
“He wasn’t there for either of the incidents,” Wallach said of Modica. “He’s going off some assumptions that I’d like to talk to him about.”
Long Beach is one of seven scheduled races for the Southern California Speedboat Club. The next event scheduled by the club is slated for the weekend of Sept. 24 in Bakersfield.
Long Beach denied the race’s application in its current configuration and specified safety requirements, which leaves open the possibility that the city and race organizers can strike a compromise on how to create safer conditions for the event.
“Should the event organizer appeal this decision and present an alternative proposed plan for the City to review, there is a possibility the event could take place again,” Jennifer De Prez, a spokesperson for the City Manager’s Office, said. “However, the City can only speak to what is submitted for our review and cannot speculate as to whether or not a hypothetical alternative proposed plan would be accepted by the City.”
After the 2018 crash, the city had initially denied the race’s application to hold the 2019 race in Long Beach. However, race organizers were able to get approval after they agreed to increase the race’s insurance policy from $1 million to $10 million.
Wallach said the club intends to file an appeal by the end of the week but said that the future of the race could rely on the city’s willingness to come to the table.
“If you’re asking me to put odds on it, I won’t, because I don’t know,” Wallach said of the race’s future in Long Beach. “If the city operates as it has for the past nine months then I’m not optimistic. If they’re open to a fair process, then yes, I believe we can come up with a solution.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with more information from the city and with comments from Ross Wallach, president of the Southern California Speedboat Club. Wallach is proposing all boats that go over 105 miles per hour to have cockpits. The original story stated the rule would apply to boats that went over 150 miles per hour.
Driver killed in 110 mph crash at Sprint Nationals speedboat race in Marine Stadium
Sprint Nationals speedboat race permit denied over safety concerns after death at last year’s race