In a river well below the high banks where the spectators had a bird’s eye view, the sport’s premier classes were set to be decided after a long season of battles. Charleston, West Virginia once again played host to the final round of the Hidden Trails Pro Watercross National Tour. There was not a bad seat in the house to see who came out on top. After a season of three motos-per-round, a one-race main was a huge plot twist.
Pro Am Ski Stock was up first where the heat race set us up for what looked like a two-man battle just like the last few rounds of the tour. Broward Motorsports’ David Cabrera and Judge Motorsports/Hidden Trails’ rider Jimmy Wilson were set to put on a show. Wilson nailed the start perfectly and jumped Cabrera out of the hole, but Cabrera and his Hydrospace had the top end to pull him to the first bouy. Wilson tried to reel in Cabrera the rest of the race but just wasn’t able, giving Cabrera the overall followed closely by Wilson. Rounding out the podium with a solid finish was Callaway Turner out of Apex, North Carolina. Cabrera also took home the National Title with Wilson in second overall and Gage Schoenherr in third.
Pro Am Runabout Box Stock has been a showcase this year for Monster Energy/ Mountain Motorsports rider Dustin Farthing on his Sea-Doo RXP-X and nothing would change at this stop. Farthing made a couple quick moves after a third place start and took the lead never to look back. Sea-Doo X-Team/Hidden Trails motorsports rider Tim Ducat was also plagued with a bad start in 4th place but after the half way point of the race he also moved up to positions to take a familiar second place finish for him. Yamaha rider Jeff Dyckowski took third after an amazing holeshot. The tour’s Overall for the class resembled the podium from this race with Farthing in first, Ducat in second, and Dyckowski in third.
Perfection was the theme of the season for Sport GP and Broward Motorsports rider Sam Nehme who saw no reason to stop now. Nehme put an exclamation mark to his season of perfection by once again winning the main. A familiar face that hasn’t been seen much lately, Christmas, Florida rider Richard Taylor put on a great show riding his way to second place to show. He will be a forced to be reckon with when the Pro Watercross World Championships roll around. Naples, Florida rider Keith Dill had a phenomenal ride on his way to third on the podium as well. Nehme easily took home the National Championship in Sport GP followed by last year’s champion Kelly Smith with third place going to Johnny Smith.
Pro Am Runabout GP was one of the best shows of the weekend and it was a two-man battle between Dean’s Team rider Brian Baldwin and Monster Energy’s Dustin Farthing. Baldwin on his blue Yamaha pulled a huge holeshot to give him the early lead with Farthing in tow. Baldwin rode flawlessly on his way to the win with Farthing finishing a close second. Third place went to Fly Racing’s Dylan Osborn after a race long battle with Hidden Trails rider Tim Ducat. The second place finish for Farthing was enough to secure him his second National Championship of the day on his Sea-Doo RXP-X with Ducat just edging out Hidden Trails owner Trey Frame for second overall leaving third to Frame.
The season’s biggest class, Pro Am Ski GP was a chance for Kommander rider Dustin Motzouris to shine. Motzouris applied that Kommander power to the track on his way to a huge main win. Judge Motorsports rider Jimmy Wilson finished up a highly successful national tour by finishing second behind Motzouris. There was a new face to the podium this weekend with Kommander rider Derrick Helm finishing third after a season of ups and downs for him in the GP class. For the National Tour overall, Motzouris edged out fellow Kommander rider David Redinger for the overall putting Redinger in second. Jimmy Wilson locked up third on the tour with his solid finish to the season.
After a season full of high speed action it was a fitting end to the National Tour in Charleston, West Virginia. The Pro Show did not disappoint and should be a great watch when it is aired on CBS sports next month. If anyone is interested in joining next year’s tour please visit prowatercross.com for more information.
