MotorActionMedia.com was on site at the fiftth round of the Pro Watercross National Tour in Lake Hartwell, GA racing and reporting on the event.
The days leading up to the sixth round of the Hidden Trails Pro Watercross National Tour were plagued with nasty thunderstorms and pouring rain. As racers pulled into the new race site in Lake Hartwell, GA on Thursday night, they fought the pelting rain as they parked their rigs – thankfully the clouds parted Friday morning and held strong throughout the weekend. Giving racers and race fans the perfect weather for an electric weekend of racing.
The Triple Crown of Watercross in Lake Hartwell was highly-anticipated as it is the final round before the National Championships in Charleston, WV. This was the final chance for racers to make a stab at National titles. Several classes were already shaken up; with the announcement that Chris MacClugage would not continue the tour, this opened the door in Pro Ski GP for several of the top racers. It also opened the door for a massive shake up in Pro Am Ski Spec. Riders like Dustin Motzouris, David Redinger, Brock Austin and Josh Block are now fiercely competing for points to move up in the ranks.
With 13 riders on the line, the Pro Ski GP class churned up the Hartwell waters and made for a rough and grueling 15 minute moto. The Kommander Team meant business; despite the fact that he was battling a virus, Dustin Motzouris dominated the Pro Ski GP heat on Saturday, with teammate David Redinger not far behind. “I love racing,” said Motzouris. “but this was one race I just wanted to get through.” Jettribe rider, “B-Rock” Brock Austin, tried to hunt down the two Kommander riders from third place, but didn’t quite get there. In the main event a chaotic start would mix up the field and Brock Austin would shoot out in first place, and go on to take the race wire-to-wire for the overall win. Dustin Motzouris would trail not far behind, weaving through the lapped riders in between him and Austin – taking him to a second place finish. Josh Block would come out of the start in third place and hold firm to this position nearly to the end, but a tangle with a lapped rider would open the door for David Redinger, who slipped into third place. Other racers like Ian Roberts, Derrick Helm, Pete Zernik and more put on a show as they swapped positions and endured the tough 15 minutes on their GP machines. We want to congratulate Brock Austin on the first Pro Ski victory of his career.
In the Pro Runabout classes, Abdullah Alfadhel continues to extend his dominating points lead on the Pro Watercross tour. Alfadhel swept Pro Runabout Open, Pro Runabout Stock and Pro Runabout Superstock on his Dean’s Team Yamaha machines. Other riders like Erminio Iantosca, Troy Snyder, Eric Francis, Brian Baldwin and Billy Dearman gave Alfadhel a run for his money by swapping positions and battling for precious points. One of the most exciting stories was from Billy Dearman, who, despite several injuries still made it to the event to race.
The Pro Am Ski Spec class was another cut throat and stacked class this weekend. With the absence of MacClugage, the door opened for several championship hopefuls. Yamaha/Raceski.com rider, Rob Flores was practically untouchable on his Raceski.com Yamaha SuperJet, and Josh Block has crept up in the points ranking as well.
The Juniors classes were packed this weekend, a full line up of young up-and-coming racers had the audiences cheering. The Junior 13-15 class and Junior 10-12 class were full of talented young battle rockets like Jessie Glennon, Sammy Nehme and Devon Farthing, as well as the Skellet siblings.
The freestyle show was loaded, even as some of the top riders were absent for the Master Craft Throwdown. Jason Stoyer kicked off his performance by attempting to backflip a buoy, and landing on top of it. He took his XScream DVX ski sky high as the audience cheered him on. Stoyer would take the overall win in Pro Freestyle. Chris Langlais also got some major air on his XScream DVX in the Amateur Freestyle class. Harrison Lanford had the crowd in awe with his old-school freestyle routine on his SuperJet. Barrel rolls, fountains and backwards hood riding was an awesome nod to the Vintage Freestyle legends.
The Sport GP class was another toss up as Johnny Smith battled to move back up the ranks after missing the West coast branch and losing his points lead to Team Faith’s Kelly Smith who worked to extend his lead. Richard Taylor dominated the first two motos, but an unfortunate issue with his machine would open the door for the competition. The surprise was Billy Dearman, who even with serious injuries raced consistently and capitalized on breakdowns and mishaps – putting him on the the podium, and Keith Dill would ride so consistently he would top the podium in Spot GP.
Racers can look forward to the smooth, fast waters of Charleston, WV as the final round of the Pro Watercross National Tour. For more information and full results, check out the Pro Watercross website, here.
