Category Archives: RacingNews(ENG)

RacingNews(ENG)

Saturday 27 August, Cowes - Russell Marmon (Christchurch, Dorset) and Duncan Johnstone (Fareham, Hampshire) clinched the Elite 300 class and AM 200 class titles respectively at Egypt Point in Cowes this afternoon, Saturday, 27 August, during the penultimate round of the 2011 P1 AquaX Championship. In choppy conditions, albeit under reasonably pleasant skies for most of the day, Kawasaki 300 Ultra rider Marmon extended his unbeaten streak to eight race wins from eight for the season with a pair of unsurprisingly dominant performances. The opening half-hour race, Moto One, was curtailed around five minutes earlier than scheduled due to ever-roughening waters but Marmon’s skill, speed and endurance were clear to see as he rocketed away from pole position. In Moto Two, on calmer seas, the championship standard setter was again imperious. “Great, good fun enjoyed that”, said the Elite 300 Champion, “It was tough today, I couldn’t see where I was going…but you have to keep the nose down and read the conditions. I am a little tired because I had a baby three weeks ago so I haven’t been getting much sleep!” Second place in the headline class of AquaX went to fellow Kawasaki mount Richard Cable (Dridlington, Bradford) in both Isle of Wight outings while Ben Vine (Bicester, Oxon) rounded out the Elite 300 podium on each occasion. Yamaha FX160 rider Duncan Johnstone finished second in AM 200 in the opening race of the day, his first defeat of the campaign, but that was still enough to seal the title. Championship newcomer Andy Steel (Southampton, Hampshire) starred to claim victory on his AquaX debut on his similar Yamaha ski and, as a fellow member of the Solent Skiers Club, the win over Johnstone was particularly sweet. Steel said: “I came out to give Duncan a run for his money, we are best of friends and ski all the time in the Solent so we’re used to these conditions. We ski all through the winter, we do this every weekend. Unfortunately he beat me but I am extremely happy to come second overall.” In race two, Johnstone returned to winning ways with his seventh victory from eight starts while Steel finished second to cap a very strong weekend and Steve Robinson (Hedon, Humberside) took third to add to his earlier rostrum in the opening encounter. “I knew it was going to be close”, commented Johnstone, “I kept looking behind me but I wasn’t pulling away from Andy he was always just there. I do prefer it rough, but it really was quite rough today. It levels it all out and it comes down to stamina and riding style. It was gruelling out there, you just had to hold on and hope for the best.” Paul Attiwell (Abingdon, Oxford) raced his Kawasaki Ultra 250 to a pair of fine wins in the AM 300 class, his third and fourth on the bounce after an equally strong weekend in Plymouth last time out. Another AquaX newcomer, Polish national Lucas Kliatkowski (St Albans, Hertfordshire), gave chase well though and delivered a fantastic showing en route to a brace of second places. “I wanted to head out the front for the first few laps, which I did, the weather conditions were getting worse and changing all the time so it was hard to open up the ski and really go”, explained Attiwell, “I sustained loads of damage to the ski, smashed the hood, and the faring cover came off. You’re consistently reading the conditions out there – the weather played a big part in the results.” “I don’t think I shall be able to walk tomorrow, it is good there is a bank holiday so I can recover!”, added Kliatkowski, “At my local Herne Bay in Ramsgate I’m the local nutter who goes out when it’s really choppy, I think that has been good training for me!” Mat Shipley (Seaford, East Sussex) finished third in race one ahead of erstwhile points leader Dave Huddleston (Milton Keynes) and Stuart Steel (Paignton, Devon) while in race two, Steel made it onto the podium ahead of Shipley and Huddleston. In terms of the provisional AM 300 points standings, Attiwell has moved seven ahead of Huddleston with Shipley currently in third place. Albert Dock in Liverpool will host the final round of the 2011 P1 AquaX Championship just a fortnight from now, over the weekend 10/11 September, where the UK’s premier Jet-Ski racers will again provide top class sport alongside the competitors from the P1 SuperStock powerboat racing championship.

The world's greatest Watercraft Freeriders and Racers are descending once again to the ocean beaches of Pacific City Oregon for this year's top US PWC surf event, which combines the second round of the IFWA Freeride World Championship Tour with the IJSBA Freeride World Cup and Motosurf Western Championship. The Surfslam is held at Tierra Del Mar Beach access located just north of Pacific City, Oregon and is free to the public on this wide expanse of incredible beach. The Blowsion Surf Slam brings over 40 professional competitors from around the world competing for a cash purse and points towards the IFWA World title and competing for the 3rd Annual IJSBA Freeride World Cup. Joining them will be some of the best PWC racers in the world who will display high speed turns through a grueling buoy course all while being challenged by the Pacific Coast's always unpredictable waves. Returning this year to compete will be UK Pro Ski Champion Jordan Fielder as well as US Pro Freerider Ross Champion and current IFWA World Champion Pierre Maixent from France. Pro and Amatuer Freeride competitors will compete in a head to head double elimination format. A panel of professional judges will score them 50% for their wave surfing and 50% for their aerial maneuvers. The IJSBA, in its support for the IFWA, will award the winner of this round with the IJSBA Freeride World Cup. The infamous Oregon Pacific Coast surf will boost freeriders over 20 feet in the air while performing surf combinations featuring multiple rotation backflips, Madonna rolls, Superman backflips, inverted barrel rolls, floaters, look backs, aerial re-entries and no handed landings. Spectators will also witness intense personal watercraft racing with the IJSBA MotoSurf Invitational. The top 20 Pro, Pro Am and Amateur wave racers in the country will battle it out in this challenging Oregon shoreline break. Racers will compete in a multi-moto format of several laps through a buoy course requiring a balance of maintaining high speeds while making split second strategic maneuvers around buoys and other racers while being utterly pounded by the intense Pacific Coast surf. This event is a weekend of non-stop surf and beach vibe action. The Freeride Qualifying will begin on Friday September 9th. Motosurf racing will take place on Saturday and Sunday Sept 10th and 11th. The main events will take place Saturday and Sunday from 8am-4pm. K&S Kuwait is proudly presenting the second annual K&S BIG AIR SHOWDOWN on Saturday with a $500.00 cash award to the freerider exhibiting the most amplitude in this must see contest of aerial throw downs. Rounding out the amenities of this action packed weekend is a vendor and sponsor beach display area with food and beverage offerings to add to the festival surf environment. With over three miles of open beach to launch from, be sure to bring your own wave shredding machine to carve up some of the famous Oregon Surf.

Sam Harvey, IJSBA Pro Runabout Open world champion of 2009 is preparing a new race craft for the World Finals. He has already made lightweight deck parts before putting the Go Fast goodies inside the engine compartment. Harvey has been very fast the last three years and he has possibly the fastest Sea-Doo at the World Finals. Expect to see him among the first three riders hunting for the win.

Team Kawasaki will show up ones again at the World Finals with two riders, as far as we know at the moment, Craig Warner and Dustin Farthing. Craig’s race craft is being prepared from Team Kawasaki Factory Jet Ski Racing. This year the Green Team will prepare a highly tuned Supercharged version of the 300X power plant. We do not know yet how far the Team has gone with the Turbo option but as we know every year they come up with fresh ideas.

Pro Freestyle rider Slovenian Rok Florjancic will show up ones again at the IJSBA World Finals this year on a Rickter X-FS race craft. Two years ago Rok had introduced his famous Helicopter trick that amazed the Havasu spectators. Rok is being sponsored by RRP Rickter and X-Scream. As he had informed us he is being training hard and we hope to see him clinching an IJSBA world title this year.

Farthing and Hardwick take both wins in Pro Runbout classes. Lake Hartwell, SC – Monster Energy / Kawasaki / Mountain Motorsports teammates Dustin Farthing and Ryan Hardwick win the Triple Crown of Watercross in the Pro Open & Pro Stock Classes. Farthing, the reigning Pro Runabout World Champion, dominated the competition by winning all three moto’s in rout to his fifth overall victory in the premier Pro Runabout Open class aboard his Mountain Motorsports tuned Monster Energy Kawasaki Ultra 300X. Farthing said afterward, “Since I moved to Atlanta, this is a new hometown race for me! I could not keep winning without the support of all my great sponsors like Monster Energy, Kawasaki, Mountain Motorsports, Jet Pilot, Jet Trim, JE Pistons, Smith, Vortech Superchargers, Hot Products, AP, and Fox.” Farthing continued, “Without my sponsors, and the support of my family and team, I could not be out here doing what I love.” Ryan Hardwick also took the overall win in the highly competitive Pro-Am Runabout Stock class. This was the second victory of the season for Hardwick, and it could not have come at a better time. The win puts Hardwick in second place in the national championship points chase with only one round remaining. “This was without a doubt my best race of the year,” said Hardwick after the race. “There have only been two riders that have won in this class so far this year, and I’m proud to be one of them.” Hardwick continued, “It was great to get my second win in front of all my friends and family that were here!” Be sure to catch Farthing and Hardwick and the entire Mountain Motorsports / Monster Energy / Kawasaki racing team as they compete at the final round of the UWP / IJSBA National Tour on August 20th and 21st in Charleston, WV.

Japanese rider Minoru Kanamori has been in the sport for four decades, from the eighties and through 2011. He has been a successful rider no matter what he was ridding. He has done it all from close course racing (Skis and Runabouts) to Freestyle. This is a photo from the good olds days, the Golden Years of personal watercraft racing when Kanamori won two World Titles with the Kawasaki XiR.