The 2nd round of the Hidden
Trails Yamaha Pro Watercross Tour was held in Pensacola Beach for the 2nd
consecutive year with the assistance of the Pensacola Sports Association and
Santa Rosa Island Authority. The surf was huge due to a storm in the Gulf
of Mexico and the waves were breaking between 6-8 feet, however the weather was
outstanding...sunny with a nice breeze. The racers would once again have
to battle the water conditions which made for some extremely exciting racing on
the Emerald Coast.
The Pro Ski GP Class, with
the new format, which qualifies down to 1 main event, was absolutely
thrilling and it was a battle of attrition to make it to the podium. Chris
MacClugage, sponsored by Monster Energy/Macc Racing/Bullett Racing would have a
rough start, suffering a breakdown in the qualifier, which would send him to
the end of the starting line that would not dampen the spirits of the fearless
racer! Dustin Motzuris, riding for the Kommander/Rockstar camp would grab
the holeshot and win a Flounder's Restaurant gift certificate, but on the
second lap would take a water sample and Macc was back in business and the lead
and would continue and dominate in the surf conditions to land him in 1st
Place. Motz held on to 2nd, and Rob Flores and Bill "Hurricane"
Haig, sponsored by Imagination Fabrication, battle through the intense surf and
Haig would come out on top for the final spot on the podium.
Pro Freestyle was off the chain
in the surf as Jace Forest, of Austin, Texas, would face off against,
"The Destroyer" Jason Stoyer, of Clearwater, Florida. Stoyer
would be the 1st to take to the water, after having a broken nozzle on
Saturday, cutting his routine short. Jason performed 21 tricks, with a
good mix of flip and helicopter variations mixed with old scholl surf tricks
and flair and the judges awarded him a 27.8 out of a possible 30 and the bar
was set. Forest, sponsored by Team XScream knew exactly what he needed to
do! Forest opened with a nice 4-trick combo and had momentum, then went
silent for 30 seconds, leaving a short lull in his run, to the displeasure of
the judges...and it would be that lull that netted him a 26.9 and just short of
a win. Congrats to Jason and "Pop Tart" Chris Langlais, who won
Amateur, and special thanks to judges Robby G, Kamikaze Kantz, and Chris
Anyzeski.
The Pro Runabout Stock
offered up the most exciting racing of the weekend exciting as Eric Francis,
Abdullah Alfadhel, and Brian Baldwin, would do battle on the ever-changing
course. Alfadhel, of Kuwait City, Kuwait, would earn the holeshot
in the 3rd moto, but he needed help after getting separated from his boat in
the 1st moto and placing 4th. Alfadhel's Dean's Team teammate, Brian
Baldwin started in 2nd place and Francis in 3rd. There were major battles
between the 3 during the 8 laps of frenzied madness. Francis needed to
get past Baldwin to take the Overall and Baldwin managed to hold him off until
the last lap and the Kawasaki pilot was able to negotiate his Ultra 310 around
Baldwin and hold on for Alfadhel in 2nd and Baldwin in the 3rd place position.
The Pro Runabout Open Class was
again another battle between Francis, Alfadhel and Baldwin, and there wouldn't
be much difference in the Stock Class with almost the exact same results.
. It was not only a battle of OEM's, but a battle of pride which made
spectator-friendly racing during the weekend. Francis and Alfadhel traded moto
victories in the 1st two motos, so it would come down to the 3rd and final
moto! Alfadhel, of Kuwait City, Kuwait, would grab the holeshot and hold
on for most of the race, but the heavier Kawasaki proved to be the "wave
crusher" on this particular weekend, same results for you top three as the
Stock Class!
The newest Class of the "Pro
Show" the Sport GP Class and they have earned their recognition by coming
to the races in full force! Kelly Smith, of Team Faith Racing, appeared
to be the one to beat after winning the 1st 4 moto's of the season and crusin
to a holeshot in the 2nd moto, and that is when depression sat in, K. Smith
would get separated from his HX and end up in 7th, leaving the door open, but
it wouldn't be for race favorite, Glen Jung, sponsored by optimaracing.com, as
Jung had a mechanical problem in the 1st moto that landed him in 9th place, but
finished strong with 2nd place finishes in the final 2 motos. Sam Nehme,
of Broward Motorspots, looked to be the favorite headed in the 3rd moto with a
3/1 finish in the 1st 2 motos, then Sam went for a swim at a most inopportune
time during the 3rd moto and Chris Hyslop, of Tom's River, New Jersey would
charge hard, but Nehme edged him out for 2nd place. The
"Ironman" of the weekend, would prove to be the
"other" Smith, Johnny, who races for Trinity Composites and Jet
Pilot USA...Johnny rode brilliantly and stayed consistent with a 3/2/1 finish
giving him the Overall and his 1st tour victory, well deserved!!
A very special thanks to all who
attended the event in Pensacola Beach and a great job to the hard-working staff
that had to overcome many obstacles to make this a successful
event! The next stop is in Reno, Nevada, and we hope to see
you there!!!
Each Pro Watercross Tour Stop is
filmed for TV which air around the world through various regional sports
networks and international distribution.
Can't make the race... anyone can
enjoy the race action each weekend though LIVE web streaming atwww.ProWatercross.com/live and
if you just couldn't get enough of the race action this weekend... watch it
again at Pro Watercross Live Web Streaming Recap