The boardwalk of New Jersey’s Atlantic City was the setting for Round 5 of the Hidden Trails Motorsports Pro Watercross National Tour. Atlantic City was a late addition to the tour but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was a staple on the tour for a long time to come. Huge rollers and a packed beach were the first things that came in to view as racers filled the starting line this past weekend. The racing by the Steel Pier gave fans a great spot to watch from as some of the best racers in the world launched their personal watercraft off of five-foot-high rollers.
Pro-Am Ski Stock was amazing to watch from beginning to end and we got to see a few faces return to tour as it returned to the East Coast. Noticeably missing from the western rounds of the tour were Chris MacClugage and Jimmy Wilson, who returned with a bang. Broward Motorsports and Monster Energy-sponsored legend MacClugage put on a high flying show sweeping Motos 1 and 2. Unbelievably fast Hidden Trails Judge Motorsports’ rider Wilson kept Macc honest by finishing up both of the first motos with a second place finish, keeping the battle for the top podium spot alive going into Moto 3. Wilson ended up with a huge final win but it wasn’t enough to hold off Macc for the top overall spot. The consistency of Rick Sherker with two thirds and a fourth place finishes placed him on the podium edging out Broward Motorsports rider David Cabrera.
In Pro-Am Runabout Box Stock, Mountain Motorsports Monster Energy rider Dustin Farthing returned to his dominant ways after a rough race in Utah. Farthing won all three motos by a huge margin on his Sea-Doo RXP-X 300. The rough surf seemed to separate him from the rest of the class but this didn’t mean that there wasn’t a battle going on behind him. Yamaha and Judge Motorsports rider Troy Snyder and Sea-Doo X-Team Hidden Trails Motorsports rider Tim Ducat continued a battle that has been heating up all tour long. Ducat took a second place in Moto 1 after Snyder missed two buoys. In Moto 2 they had a long battle that culminated in Snyder finishing just in front of Ducat. So it came down to Moto 3 to see how the rest of the podium would shake out. It was a battle that also included Yamaha rider Jeff Dycowski, who just missed out on the podium. Snyder put up a valiant effort after a red flag start, but it wasn’t enough to catch Ducat, putting the Sea-Doo racer second overall and Snyder rounding out the podium in third.
Pro-Am Ski GP was once again the biggest class of the weekend and had some of the best racing and once again. Just like the other ski class, it too had two familiar faces battling it out for the top two spots. Broward Motorsports Chris MacClugage started off with a big Moto 1 win looking like he is completely at home in the rough Atlantic Ocean. Hidden Trails Motorsports Jimmy Wilson, who we are sure is happy to be back on tour, finished second in Moto 1 and battled back for a Moto 2 win setting up for a winner-takes-all Moto 3 showdown between the two. Motos 1 and 2 had Kommander rider David Redinger finish third and it looked like it would set him up for a podium spot but trouble in Moto 3 denied him that opportunity. In the final match between Macc and Wilson, Macc once again bested Wilson and took the top spot on the podium with Wilson finishing second. Consistency was the name of the game for Rick Sherker this weekend once again, putting him in a very respectable third place overall.
When the tour came back east it also brought back a familiar face to the Pro-Am Runabout GP class in the form of Dean’s Team Yamaha rider Brian Baldwin. Baldwin started off the weekend by smoking the field in Moto 1. This seemed to really light a fire under Monster Energy Sea-Doo rider Dustin Farthing. Farthing put Moto 1 behind him and put on a show in Motos 2 and 3, winning by a huge margin. This gave Farthing the overall and placed Baldwin in second. Third place on the podium came down to two Hidden Trails Motorsports Sea-Doo riders, Trey Frame and Tim Ducat. Ducat edged out Frame for third overall after boat problems cost Frame a shot at the podium.
In Sport GP there has been one man to win every overall this year, Broward Motorsports’ owner Sam Nehme. Red flags and huge air on the starts put Nehme behind the 8 ball in two of the motos but even that couldn’t stop his march towards perfection. Nehme bested Team Faith rider Kelly Smith in all three motos with Smith finishing just behind him in each moto and on the podium. All around great guy and rider Johnny Smith finished third overall after multiple issues that tried to set him back.
As the tour begins winding down, the great battles are shaping up as we hit the final stretch. Next we will see everyone in Lake Hartwell, Georgia for the last of the single points round of the tour before the championships in West Virginia. Until then, you can find all the results from the tour HERE.
Hidden Trails Pro Watercross National Tour – Round 5 Atlantic City, New Jersey
PRO-AM SKI GP: 1. Chris MacClugage, 2. Jimmy Wilson, 3. Rick Sherker, 4. David Redinger, 5. Derrick Helm, 6. Josh Block, 7. Mike Kelberer, 8. David Cabrera, 9. Bill Haig; PRO-AM R/A BOX STOCK: 1. Dustin Farthing, 2. Tim Ducat, 3. Troy Snyder, 4. Jeff Dyckowski, 5. Brent Venderley, 6. Dylan Osborn, 7. Michael Borges; PRO-AM SKI STOCK: 1. Chris MacClugage, 2. Jimmy Wilson, 3. Rick Sherker, 4. David Cabrera, 5. Callaway Turner; PRO-AM RUNABOUT GP: 1. Dustin Farthing, 2. Brian Baldwin, 3. Tim Ducat, 4. Trey Frame, 5. Dylan Osborn, 6. Cameron Frame; SPORT STOCK: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Eric Gabryel, 3. Shawn Reynolds, 4. Ray Quintana, 5. Ken Waddle; SPORT GP: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Kelly Smith, 3. Johnny Smith, 4. Shawn Reynolds; AMATEUR R/A BOX STOCK: 1. Juan Rada, 2. Michael Borges, 3. Anthony Figuerua, 4. Eric T. Gabryel; RUNABOUT N/A SPEC: 1. Cameron Frame; VETERANS R/A BOX STOCK: 1. Jeff Dyckowski, 2. Kevin Kennedy, 3. Anthony Figuerua; IROC STOCK (RUNABOUT REC): 1. Eric Gabryel, 2. Eric T. Gabryel, 3. Sean Miles; AMATEUR RUNABOUT SS: 1. Travis Moore, 2. Kevin Kennedy; IROC GP (RUNABOUT 1000): 1. Eric Gabryel, 2. Eric T. Gabryel
