Like the cascade of a descending avalanche as viewed by the village beneath it, those looking to compete against Yamaha WaveRunners in 2020 are staring down potential doom. No other brand has racked up more wins in recent years than Yamaha, and its unparalleled dominance in both closed course and offshore racing poses a dire threat against those choosing to ride Sea-Doo and Kawasaki. As the saying goes, there’s no arguing with the scoreboard.
For the new year, Yamaha has rolled out a roster of corporate-sponsored professional athletes – 10 to be exact – that are sure to fill the competition with dread. Some of the winningest racers now wear Yamaha blue, and that’s just a fact. Meanwhile, as starting lines fill with GP1800R’s and FX SVHO’s (because P1 AquaX won’t let Cruiser-edition FX’s race for some inexplicable reason), Sea-Doo will have some of its racers aboard Polytech 2.0-bottomed GTR 230s. Thus far, Kawasaki has yet to announce a single sponsored racer.
Here’s the complete press release:
Yamaha Watercraft Racing, the most successful PWC racing program in the history of the sport, announced its 2020 team riders headlined by the top three racers in the P1 AquaX world rankings. The Yamaha team riders will compete on the P1 AquaX Tour and at the IJSBA World Finals. All of the athletes will ride the Yamaha FX SVHO or Yamaha GP1800R SVHO.
Leading the 2020 effort is Eric Francis, the current P1 AquaX Pro Enduro world champion and # 1 ranked rider in the world. Joining Francis is Brian Baldwin, reigning Pro Runabout Stock IJSBA world champion and #2 ranked rider in the world; and 24-time world and national champion Chris MacClugage, the #3 ranked rider in the world.
“We’re ready to go racing,” said Yamaha WaveRunner racing manager Bryce Parker. “We have the best riders in the world racing the best racecraft in the world. Our FX SVHO and GP1800R SVHO are undefeated on the P1 AquaX tour, which has everything to do with the performance and durability of our WaveRunners, the talent and dedication of our riders, and the support of our partners Broward Motorsports and Riva Motorsports.”
Racing action starts April 18 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
2020 Yamaha WaterCraft Factory Riders:
Broward Motorsports: Eric Francis, Chris MacClugage, Christian Daly, Sophie Francis
RIVA Motorsports: Brian Baldwin, Tyler Hill, Eric Lagopoulos, Chris Landis
Privateer: Dennis Mack, Troy Snyder
