Pro Runabout Stock class is not where you want to be if you’re anything other than one of the very few hand-selected Factory Yamaha racers. This year has been strictly Yamaha territory, and Dean Charrier’s stellar Dean’s Team has just locked in yet another closeout of the hotly contested runabout class. This time around, Charrier and crew embarked on a journey across the globe to Phuket, Thailand for the 4th annual Asian Beach Games. The event, hosted by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), was first held on the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia, the second in Muscat, Oman, and last year’s third edition along the coast of Haiyang, China.
The Asian Beach Games though, are not merely a jet ski race. Hosting Olympic athletes from across the Asian continent, competitions are held in swimming, volleyball, water polo, track events, parasailing, basketball, handball, soccer, wrestling and a wide variety of other beach-centric sports, which includes PWC racing. Unlike Western Nations, Asian Olympic councils recognize the mental and physical prowess necessary to excel in jet ski racing, and has welcomed it into part of the pantheon of watersports held throughout the week-long event (November 14-23).
During the three-days of racing, Dean’s Team racers – consisting of Aqsa Aswar and his brother, IJSBA World and Pro Watercross National Champion Aero Aswar (both representing Indonesia), and Abdullah Al-Fadhel, representing Kuwait – bested the competition and took Gold, Silver and Bronze metals, respectively. Impressively, all three each won a moto in the single-day’s three moto race, Aero suffering a broken hose clamp in the first race, leaving the win to his brother Aqsa; Abdullah running out of gas the following moto, handing the win over to Aero; Aqsa remaining consistent throughout.
Aqsa recounted, “The race was very tight between my brother, Abdullah, and myself. In the first moto I got first; the second moto I was second and in the last moto, I was third. The 2015 Yamaha FZR was awesome today! With Dean Charrier of Dean’s Team tuning on it, it was a rocket. I pulled two boat’s length holeshot in the first moto and the three of us (Aero, Abdullah, and I) were pulling away from the other riders in every lap. It’s a very good handling boat and also a very fast!”
Abdullah echoed Aqsa, “It was a great race and the course was open. I’m happy to be on the podium for [Factory] Yamaha and Dean’s Team.”
Aero added, “I felt really good after the race. I’m happy that only Yamahas got podium [spots] and especially that my brother took gold. The event was excellent; the government involvement made a major change to the sport itself unlike [any other] single events we have like World Finals or King’s Cup.”
As to the performance of the ’15 FZR, he concluded, “The ski was really good! Dean Charrier of Dean’s Team made a really good boat for the heat over here.”
Charrier went on to explain his pleasure with the execution of the event itself, “[It’s] very good! [I’m] actually I’m having flashbacks of [the] good old days. The track was laid out with switch backs, apex buoys and a good old “2-card, 1-go” starting system that ran like clockwork. Only having three or four classes a day with three long motos is the ticket, and keeps spectator and media coverage happy and [all of us very] busy. The day was filled with excitement and very busy, [just] like I like it.”
Races continue today with Open class and Endurance racing the following. We wish everyone the best of luck!
