Kent: Life as a 120mph powerboat racer: 'It's like flying'

In the MOT bay of a garage in Chatham, Kent, Ben Jelf is chatting while doing diagnostics on an engine and inspecting the underside of a 2002 Toyota.

"It's hard to describe unless you've experienced it," he says. "It's like flying but being in a boat, because we're only a few inches from the water, just skimming past."

He is talking about his other life as an F1H2O driver, the elite level of powerboat racing, in which carbon fibre boats travel at average speeds of 120mph (193kmh) and can be sent skyward by an errant wave.

"You try and put to the back of your mind what could go wrong," he says.

"I've yet to have a big accident in F1. I've had accidents in the lower classes, I think it helps you know where the limits are of your boat," he added.

The Jelf family is synonymous with British powerboat racing. Ben's grandfather raced, his father Colin was the first person to win F2 three times in a row in 2008, and his uncle also raced F1.

This season has taken Ben to Indonesia, Vietnam, Italy, and China, and although there are sponsors, the majority of funding comes from the garage run by his family.