Are you ready for a showdown? For the past six months, there has been a groundswell of buzz surrounding Yamaha’s SVHO-powered FZRs and FXs charging the racing circuit. Finally, with the first round of the UWP Pro Watercross Tour kicking off this weekend in Pensacola, Florida, we all get to see these sick machines in full force.
Yamaha will have a lot of extra firepower on hand, as they recently announced a partnership with Dean Charrier’s Dean’s Team and Riva Racing to carry Yamaha through the checkered flags first in close course and HydroDrag racing for 2014.
Here’s the original press release:
When it comes to closed-course and HydroDrag racing, Dean Charrier’s Dean’s Team and Riva Racing are two of the most dominate names in the history of the personal watercraft racing.
Charrier is considered today’s top tuner when it comes to Yamaha engines. Since 2009, Charrier-tuned WaveRunners have won five pro national titles, three pro world championships, and too many expert/amateur podiums to list.
“I’m excited to work with the new Yamaha SVHO platform as I think it will be on top for years to come,” commented Charrier. “The new engine makes awesome, reliable power along with proven performance and handling that I believe will add up to another successful year with Yamaha and Riva Racing.”
Riva Racing, the leading manufacturer of performance aftermarket products for personal watercraft enthusiasts, is virtually synonymous with Yamaha WaveRunner racing. Together, Yamaha WaterCraft and Riva Racing have dominated the past 20 years of closed-course racing.
But that’s not all, Yamaha followed the partnership announcement with a phenomenal announcement that not only will Yamaha have a full roster of world champions racing their WaveRunners, but leaked that Dustin Farthing will be returning to the water for this year’s IJSBA World Finals happening this October in Lake Havasu, Arizona.
Likewise, Yamaha is very proud to welcome Troy Snyder, Aero Aswar and Brian Baldwin who all defected from riding the Sea-Doo RXP-X to the new SVHO WaveRunners. This shift has stirred the waters quite a bit in the racing community and it’s sure to only shake things up more on the race course.
Here too, is the second announcement:
Riders committed to Yamaha for the 2014 Pro Watercross National Tour are Asian Beach Games champion Aero Aswar and IJSBA World and National champions Brian Baldwin, Rob Greenwald, Dennis Mack, and Troy Snyder.
Aswar, Baldwin and Snyder, all of whom are world-renowned riders, shook up the racing community recently with their announcement to leave Sea-Doo and the RXP-X in favor of the new Yamaha FZR WaveRunner.
“The horsepower of the FZR is like riding an Open class boat compared to the RXP-X,” said Snyder. “I had all three brands in my garage in December. Yamaha was the winner.” The decision was just as easy for Baldwin. “The Yamaha FZR has a better powerplant, more horsepower, handles better and is the all around better choice,” he said.
17 time National and World Champion Dustin Farthing will continue his close collaboration with Yamaha in 2014, focusing his efforts towards a Pro Runabout title win at the 2014 IJSBA World Finals aboard the Yamaha FZR WaveRunner.
