With the 2016 IJSBA World Finals completed, it looks like Yamaha prevailed. In nearly every class that a Yamaha Watercraft participated in, they won a title. Titles were won in Women’s Runabout, Pro Runabout Stock, Pro Runabout Spec and Pro Runabout Limited. These classes are not easy and it showed that Yamaha’s Research and Development team has created many different crafts to suit all of their racers needs.
With Chris MacClugage and Abdullah Al-Fadhel having record-breaking years aboard their Yamaha FZR WaveRunners, they were able to win gold this year. It had been a long year but winning was all that mattered. MacClugage dominated the closed course Pro Runabout Stock class and was accompanied on the podium with Al-Fadhel and Aero Aswar.
Dean’s Team Racing gained more recognition with Al-Fadhel racing in the Pro Runabout Spec and winning the world title. This established him as the “one of the best riders ever to compete on the International stage,” according to Yamaha’s press release.
Shante Bukes, Yamaha Racer in the Women’s Runabout was the champion this year. While this is a predominantly male sport, the women are turning in some fantastic times. Mohammed Burbayea came out as the Pro Runabout Limited Champion.
As many of you have heard, the 2017 GP1800 is definitely going to give the FZR a run for its money and be chasing it for new titles. While there is most likely going to be a few FZR’s at the starting line next year, Yamaha’s Race Director Scott Watkins is very excited to see how well the GP1800 will perform in the closed course racing that Yamaha has dominated for so many years.
Yamaha had a terrific year and would like to thank everybody who has helped the Yamaha Racers get to the top of the podium!
