How teens race hovercrafts at 70mph with no brakes

Teenagers from Bristol are racing hovercrafts at speeds of up to 70mph (112km/h) in a motorsport where drivers have no brakes and no conventional steering.

Rudy and Digby Dorman, along with Louie and JJ McGavin, are part of Team Phoenix, a family-run team whose young racers have already won races and championships at European and world level.

Hovercraft racing takes place on mixed land and water circuits, with drivers using thrust, weight transfer, aerodynamic drag and judgement to control speed and direction.

"It feels like you're being pushed along in a shopping trolley really fast," said 15-year-old Rudy, whose hovercraft can reach speeds of up to 70mph.

Team Phoenix was founded in 2025 and consists of the four young drivers from Bristol.

In just two seasons, the team has progressed from complete newcomers to collecting race wins and championship titles.

Team founder Charlie Dorman said racing hovercrafts were very different from the passenger craft many people associate with the word.

"They're quite loud. They don't have brakes. They go really fast," he said.

For Mr Dorman, the obsession began when he worked on a hovercraft project at school, aged 12.

"I walked into the workshop, saw a hovercraft and I was immediately like, 'What is that?'," he said.

Among the the team of racers are Mr and Mrs Dorman's sons Rudy, 15 and Digby, 13, who have grown up around hovercraft.

Digby is now able to race a hovercraft at speeds of around 35 to 40mph (56 - 64 kph), despite not yet being old enough to drive a car on the road.

Rudy's hovercraft is considerably faster, reaching up to 60 or 70mph.

Despite the team's achievements, hovercraft racing remains relatively unknown compared with many other motorsports.

"I think there's more people racing lawnmowers than there are hovercraft," joked Mr Dorman.

His wife, Charlie Dorman, admits she was perplexed when he first mentioned the sport.

"I think I did what everybody else does and kind of went, 'hover-what?'," she said.

"Whenever you speak to anybody about hovercraft racing, there's just a really perplexed look when they think about the hovercraft that goes to the Isle of Wight."

Louie, 16, said trying to explaining the sport to his school friends could be difficult.

"They don't really understand what it is," he said. "Even after I show them videos, they're just like, 'OK, well, I still don't know what it is'."

Mrs Dorman describes hovercraft racing as a "real grassroots motorsport" with a strong family atmosphere.

"It's quirky, it's niche, but it's incredibly friendly," she said. "There's a real camaraderie around it."

Rudy says that spirit is particularly noticeable on race weekends.

"Everyone's trying to help each other," he said.

"Your hands might be in your competitor's engine trying to fix it 10 minutes before the race. That's the sort of culture in the club."

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