The 2017 AJSP Australian Watercross Championships held at Redcliffe Beach, Queensland on April 29-30 2017, attracted racers and spectators from all around the Nation. Yamaha Racers dominated the scene sweeping six classes in total. Of those six classes, three of those classes were dominated by seven all-new GP1800 WaveRunners, proving to be the most successful model of the Championships.
GP1800 dominates Stock-Classes
The 2017 GP1800 was clearly the weapon of choice amongst competitors, with Yamaha’s reigning Pro-Stock Champion Mitch Wayt winning the Pro-Stock Championship Title and the Pro-Stock Endurance Title on his two Worx Racing and Diptech Yamaha tuned GP1800s, and former-champion Shane Stuart winning the Pro-Stock-spec Championship Title on his Shoreline Yamaha tuned GP1800 and FZS.
With collective support from Sydney Watercraft Centre, Gold Coast WaveRunners and Diptech Performance, Mitch Wayt #16A was pushing his two GP1800s to the pointy end of each Pro-Stock race. The racing was down to the line all weekend, where Wayt’s pace edged-out 2016 showroom-stock champion Mitchell Casey by a narrow-margin to take the Title.
Pro-Stock Enduro was yet again a clash of the Mitch’s on their GP1800s, with Yamaha’s Mitch Wayt going head-to-head with Mitch Casey for the Title. In the end, it was Mitch Wayt on the top podium step, clenching the title with his Stock-Class GP1800.
Shoreline Yamaha’s Shane Stuart #476 proved victorious in Pro Stock-spec on his GP1800 and FZ, winning the class ahead of Mitch Wayt #16A in 2nd on his GP1800 and Rookie Sebastian Birch #110 in 3rd on his FZR. A strong class for Yamaha WaveRunners with the top five riders competing on either a GP1800 or FZ.
FX SVHO wins Pro-Open Enduro
Five-time Endurance Champion Christian D’Agostin #6A proved yet again that he is the fastest over long distances, winning the Pro-Open Endurance Title on his Gold Coast WaveRunners FX SVHO.
In race #1 Shoreline Yamaha’s Brett Douglas took the win on his Shoreline Yamaha FX SVHO, with D’Agostin finishing only seconds behind.
Race #2 proved eventful, with both Mitchell Casey and Christian D’Agostin high-siding at speed, forcing officials to red-flag the race. With the race restarted, D’Agostin recovered and knuckled-down to take the win in the gruelling 35 minute long Enduro.
SuperJets win Lites Class
SuperJet riders saw plenty of podiums, with Shoreline Yamaha’s Jordan O’Keeffe #141 winning the Pro/Am Limited Lites Title on his SuperJet, and 16-year-old Jett Cavanagh #101 winning the Junior Lites Title on his Worx Racing tuned SuperJet. The Pro/Am Limited Lites Class was a world-class display of riding in the brutally windy conditions, with 3-foot chop plaguing the course.
This proved to be Jordan O’Keeffe’s advantage, with the Queensland-Champion winning each of the four races in spectacular fashion, to win the 2017 Lites Limited Title.
The varying conditions also proved to be Jett Cavanagh’s strength, with the Marina Bayside Yamaha-sponsored Junior capitalising on his freeriding experience, winning all four races to claim his first Australian Championship Title.
“It’s pleasing to see the majority of Australia’s elite racers have chosen to fight for the 2017 Australian Championship on either the GP1800, FX SVHO or SuperJet,” said Yamaha Motor Australia’s Mark Harman. “It’s early days for the new GP1800 with it being a brand-new product, but we have had an exceptional result from the new GP1800, locking out three of the runabout classes.”
Concluding the Championships at the Awards Presentation, Mitch Wayt was bestowed the honour of receiving the #201 Joey Scaturchio Memorial Trophy, from Joey’s father Tony Scaturchio.
Yamaha Motor Australia would like to congratulate the Yamaha riders for their achievements, and extend our thanks towards the Yamaha Dealerships who participated, the AJSBA, QPWC, Sponsors, Safety Marshals, Scorers and Officials. For more information on getting involved or Yamaha WaveRunner’s performance watercraft range, contact your local WaveRunner Dealership.