The Pro Watercross National Tour made it’s second stop in Pensacola Beach, FL this weekend for another round of Jet Ski racing action.
This was the second year of the Pro Watercross circuit making a stop in Pensacola. After its inaugural year, it was very clear that Pensacola would be one of the most challenging spots due to it’s unpredictable water conditions. This year, clear skies and warm weather did not stop mother nature from churning up the water. Pro Watercross reported the swells to be between 4-7ft, but they look even bigger when you’re on the water racing.
Even the most talented racers in the world raced a little cautiously this weekend. Racers in the Pro Ski GP class opted out of the heats when they learned they would only be racing for gate picks, not qualification. In order to preserve energy and save their equipment from a beating, several of the pros sat out of the heats on Saturday. Saturday’s Pro Ski GP heats were seperated into two groups. The first heat was won by Jimmy Wilson. It appeared that Monster energy/Bullett Racing Chris Maccluagge would win after a strong start but he was towed in, and Jimmy went on for the victory. The second heat was all Kommander Industries/Rockstar Energy rider, Dustin Motzouris. After Motzouris won the second heat, the Kommander, Steve Webster told MotorActionMedia.com that Motzouris came in unflustered and completely relaxed, as if he had just cruised the whole time. Motzouris was extremely pleased with the Kommander K-1 and how the hull handled, as well as the motor package. Despite his stroke of misfortune in the heat, Maccluggage would come back for the main and take the victory in the main and the overall as well. His race was impressive, he lapped the field up through fourth place even with ridiculous swells and rough conditions. Macclugage was definitely on fire. Motzouris went on to take second place. And team Hurricane rider, Bill “the Hurricane” Haig showed that he’s still got it by rounding out the podium in third.
Pro Runabout Open was a nail biter all weekend. Eric Francis chose to race this class on his stock Kawasaki Ultra 310 and showed that his skills in the ocean gave him the advantage — he had an incredible first race on Saturday, putting some distance between him and second place, Abdulla Alfadhel. But Sunday morning, Alfadhel would come back for a victory in moto two, and it would all boil down to the final moto Saturday afternoon. Francis would go on to take the win in the Pro Runabout GP class as well as the Pro Box Stock and Pro Stock classes. Francis was extremely excited with his victories especially due to the fact that he was on his stock Kawasaki Ultra 310. While Alfadhel did not repeat his victory in Panama City this weekend, it is very likely we will see him come back with ferocity at the next race.
Jace Forest was undeniably the winner of Pro Freestyle this weekend. Audiences were looking forward to perhaps another double-backflip from Daniel Martin, but getting sick at the last minute kept him away. There was a battle in the Amateur Freestyle division between returning Amateur National Champion, Chris Langlais, and Peter Waldron. Both of these guys are on Team XScream so it was a battle between teammates that got down to the wire. Ultimately it would be Langlais who would take the overall victory in the Amateur Freestyle division, furthering his points lead over Waldron just a little more.
The sport classes were full of carnage and epic battles as downed riders struggled to regain their balance aboard their skis in the churning water. Supercross legend and Team Faith athlete, Kelly Smith showed the crowds how racing motorcross has helped him adapt to crazy conditions. An impressive victory in the first moto gave him an edge heading into the racing on Sunday. Johnny Smith aka “Seven Two Moto”, also had an epic race on Saturday, the Florida native proved that he could also ride in the wicked surf. Other racers with notable rides included Sam Nehme, Chris Hyslop and Chris Smith.
Congratulations are in order to all the racers who braved the conditions in Pensacola this weekend. The Pro Watercross tour heads to Sparks, NV for the next enstallment of Jet Ski racing action June 20-21.
For the results from the races, head over to the official Pro Watercross Tour website.
Check out some photos of the event by MotorActionMedia.com correspondent, Jules Hopkins, and stay tuned for an action packed race gallery.
