The hype around the 2018 Thai Airways Jet Ski World Cup lived up to its name being one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar and the biggest and most lucrative jet ski race in the world.
The Pro Ski GrandPrix saw some close, hard fought action between the best pilots in the world. The top competitors battled throughout each of the 4 motos with Jetpilot team riders stamping their domination on this years World Cup. Kevin Reiterer took out the win in the 1st moto, followed closely by Raphael Maurin and then Quinten Vandenbossche.
Athlete: Kevin Reiterer Source: @bombphotography
The Next 2 Moto’s was a fight for pole position seeing Quinten claiming victory for Moto 2 and Jeremy Poret grabbing the win for Moto 3. Going into the 4th and final Moto saw Kevin Reitererahead by only 10 points followed closely by Raphael Maurin and Quinten Vandenbossche.
Tensions were high in the air with each athlete wanting to claim victory for the Pro Ski Grandprix, unfortunately Kevin experienced some technical issues with his jet ski giving Quinten and Raphael the upper hand to fight it out for the win. After an epic performance by both athletes Raphael Maurin kicked it up a gear showing his superior class and speed to cross the finish line first crowning him the 2018 Pro Ski GrandPrix Champion. It was great to see the podium filled with Jetpilot team riders. Congratulations to all the athletes that competed in this class and for all the hard work you put in all year around
Athlete: Raphael Maurin Source: @raphm44
It was a day of speed and precision riding, Jetpilot team rider Chris McCluggage come in a comfortable second place for the first 2 Moto’s in the Pro Sport GP class. With a convincing win in Motto 3 Chris equalised the playing field heading into the final Motto tied on 166 points with his fellow United States competitor Christian Daly.
Both athletes had to give their all to take home the gold but unfortunately this year the reigning champ Chris McCluggage fell a little short opening the door for Christian who finished strong to take the win and be crowned as the 2018 Pro Sport GP Champion.
Athlete: Chris McCluggage, Christian Daly Source: @chrismccluggage
The Pro Freestyle event saw 2 moto’s featuring Jetpilot team rider and all star Mark Gomez giving the a crowd a show to remember. Taiji Yamamoto turned up the heat forcing Gomez to bring his A game. The two battled it out with Gomez coming out on top after the first run placing him three points ahead of Yamamoto.
The second run was seen to be the decider with some big scores across the board. Overall Gomezwas too good on the day showing his huge variety of technical chains of tricks claiming victory by six points crowning him the 2018 Pro Freestyle Champion.
Athlete: Tanner Thomas, Mark Gomez Source: @markgomez137
This class featured two of Sweden’s best and Jetpilot team riders Emma Nellie Ortendahl and Jonna Borgstrom. Borgstrom was in a comfortable position after Moto 1 finishing second behind Emi Tanaka whilst Ortendahl crossed the line in fourth. Moto 2 saw Ortendahl jump right back in the race claiming victory with Borgstrom finishing fourth. Moto 3 separated the pack with the top 5 positions in reach to claim gold.
Going into Moto 4 saw the two Swedish athletes in the top 3. It was going to be tough to beat Tanaka in the final moto but outside contender Mayumi Okano crossed the line first sneaking into a third overall position for the Pro-Am Women Ski Limited. Ortendahl finished fourth and Borgstrom claimed the silver making Tanaka the 2018 Pro-AM Women Ski Limited Champion.
Athlete: Emma Nellie Ortendahl, Jonna Borgstrom, Emi Tanaka, Mayumi Okano Source: @emmannellie
Shout outs to the other Aussie Riders that lined up at this years World Cup.
Pro Runabout GP
Guy Greenland 4th Place
Bailey Cunningham 8th Place
Amatuer Ski Kawasaki 1500 Stock
Tom Aiken 4th Place
]]>
KEVIN REITERER WINS SKI UIM-ABP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.
Sharjah, UAE – Kevin Reiterer was in a class of his own with a faultless performance over the entire weekend. He won the Grand Prix of Sharjah and sealed another UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship.
Coming into this week Reiterer lead the Championship by 14 points in front of Raphael Maurin (FRA), who just won the prestigious King’s Cup title a weekend prior to this event. Both athletes battled in all four moto’s and shared wins at the event in Thailand. It seemed to be a recipe for an exciting final race event of the season.
However, Reiterer had other plans. Reunited with his Team Victory race craft in Sharjah, he dominated practice and pole position by a margin of 4.83 seconds clear of defending World Champion Quinten Bossche. Reiterer went on to dominate all 3 moto’s ahead of a consistent Maurin who finished second and Bossche a strong third. A podium clean sweep for Jetpilot
“Being back on my Victory Team race ski here in Sharjah feels amazing. I felt comfortable with the ski straight away and was ready to push it my hardest”
UIM-ABP AQUABIKE CLASS PRO CIRCUIT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX of SHARJAH, Sharjah – UAE, 10th – 14th December 2018
“Coming into this season I was battling an injury. Throughout the year, thanks to the Victory Team, I could focus on getting healthy and fit. The Sharjah Grand Prix was the result of all the hard work the Team and I put in throughout the year. I really enjoyed racing and topping it up with my sixth World Title and the first ever for Victory Team in Aquabike feels very special.” says the World Champion.
We here at Jetpilot are feeling super proud. Our athletes have excelled all year, we are truly bless to have the support of such amazing talent. Bring on 2019!!
]]>
FELIX GEORGII SIGNS with Jetpilot Australia
The Jetpilot Australia team is pumped to welcome Felix Georgii to our team!
With a strong background in snowboarding coupled with his creative talent, Felix’s ability to carve up the rails is unparalleled. His new approach to the sport has earned him a solid list of achievements including 2018 Rail Rider of the Year, 2018 Mens Rider of the Year and 2018 X-Games Real WakeSilver Medallist.
“Felix is really changing the game in Wakeboarding,” says Jetpilot TM Dallas Morgan. “The originality and creativity in his riding is so exciting and different. He’s adventurous and not afraid to try something new – it’s something we’ve been looking to add to our team for a while.”
“We are frothing to have him as part of the Jetpilot family and keen to see what we can do together.”
2018 was a massive year for Felix, so expect even bigger things from him this year. Welcome to the family, Felix!
]]>