Fabio Buzzi, Luca Nicolini & Eric Hoorn all lost their lives in a tragic accident outside of Venice harbour on Tuesday night.

They were attempting to better the Monte Carlo to Venice speed record with Mario Invernizzi who was rushed to hospital after the incident which occurred at around 21:00 CET.

Buzzi, who only last year, set a diesel powered World Speed Record of 277.515 Km/h on Lake Como at the age of 75.

His role of honour in offshore racing was remarkable, not only as a driver, but as an engineer, boat designer and builder.

Luca Nicolini, also an engineer and boat designer, and a veteran racer, competed at the highest level in the sport, last racing in Class One for the Qatar team.

Eric Hoorn had worked with Buzzi on previous record attempts, including the successful 2016 Monte Carlo to Venice speed record run.