Last weekend’s LB2CAT marked the official transition of longtime racer Christian D’Agostin to the Factory Yamaha Team. We heard the good news out of D’Agostin’s native land and Australian network OZPWC. This partnership will utilize the 5-time Australian Champion riding for the U.S. Factory Yamaha Team in selected upcoming U.S. and World Championship events.
The first of these events has just taken place this past weekend in the famous Long Beach to Catalina Offshore race (LB2CAT). This 56-mile round trip endurance race is an ultimate test between man, machine, and the elements. It is a balancing act of rider stamina, machine mechanical reliability, fuel conservation, and dealing with mother nature’s harsh water conditions.
Although the new Yamaha-partnered rider did not make a podium finish, D’Agostin still made a solid 4th overall continuing to push Team Kawasaki further from the podium. In fact, 2017 is Team Yamaha’s second year in a row to take a full podium finish proving that the FX SVHO platform is an undeniable endurance machine. As sponsors of The Watercraft Journal, it is always great to hear such exciting news about Yamaha Factory.
The Watercraft Journal is also no stranger to Christian D’Agostin as we have followed his fascinating journey throughout the years and featured the lifelong racer two years ago in our Seven Deadly Questions. We know that this transition is an exciting one for D’Agostin. When you combine a Champion Rider with a Champion Team, you can expect nothing but great results. We will be excited to see what this brings for the King’s Cup and World Finals as well as the 2018 Season.
