High speed jet boat race takes terrifying turn

Off to a strong start, race driver Brian Jackson wizzed through the water track in the southern Perth suburb of Baldivis.

But it's what happens next during the jet sprint that no one saw coming.

The boat rolled, not once but four times, with officials rushing to help.

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"It was a hard hit," Jackson told 9News.

"The first thing going through my mind, I hit once and I thought 'oh that's going to cost me'. The second hit, I thought 'that's it, my season's over, my boat's destroyed'."

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Remarkably, Jackson and his passenger walked away just before the boat caught fire.

"Both of us are probably feeling, although I don't present it, feeling a little out of sorts, just realising that we've been through something pretty severe," he said.

The 56-year-old will spend at least the next two nights in hospital after the burns on his thigh became infected.

"Few more days, antibiotics, rest and see where we go from here," he said

Jackson's wasn't the only boat to bite the dust.

"A lot of people had difficulty, there were a lot of offs and mishaps and slides and things but I think I did the best one."

He hopes to be back racing for the next championship on Australia Day.