The ultimate round of the twelfth Jet Waves championship kicked off on Friday 22 October. All riders went head-to-head in the qualifiers in a do-or-die bid to secure their place in the next round. The excitement and tension was palpable as the riders fought it out on the water, cheered along by the crowds. After a day of fierce competition, the fourteen best riders were deposited into the next stage of the competition, leaving two open spots which were up for grabs in the Last Chance knockout round, held on Saturday morning.And so as dawn broke across the sands of the city of Piçarras, and with all to play for, the ten remaining riders duelled it out for those last two places. The moment had come. Three-time champion Pierre Maixent was to butt horns with the equally talented Alessander Lenzi, who was competing in front of his home crowd. The Frenchman put in a world class routine, but it was the local boy whos height off the waves were unparalleled, and peppered with an array of tricks and gigantic back flips. To the delight of the Santa Catarina crowds, Lenzi took the top spot in the last stage of the Jet Waves championship. In terms of the overall championship, Pierre had accrued enough points to take the IFWA big win, adding to his previous championship titles of 2005, 2006 and 2007. Fellow Frenchman Maxime Baroeiro took the silver and the Brazilian Tiago Geitens earned a more-than-respectable third place. Read the complete race report on Jetpilotss web site.
