On June 13th and 14th, racers throughout the Southeast headed back over to the quaint and cozy town of Tavares, Florida right outside of Orlando on Lake Dora for Rounds 3 and 4 of Mikey Young’s Surf & Turf Reunion Tour. This site is a favorite amongst the racers as the city welcomes the participants, and family members alike, with open arms to enjoy an action packed weekend at Wooten Park.
Racers from areas such as Georgia, North Carolina, and of course Florida made the trek over which made for solid turnouts particularly in the ski and sport classes.
Pro Ski GP is always a favorite to watch amongst everyone there and on Saturday, it was all Broc Harris in Moto 1 as he holeshotted and led all 15 laps wire-to-wire to take the win with guys like John Stevens, Jimmy Wilson, Johnny Smith, David Cabrara and Kirk Britto battling it out behind him. In Moto 2, we saw some intense action as Johnny Smith and Jimmy Wilson battled for second place behind race leader Broc Harris.
The two went side-by-side for several turns through the chicane section and finally, to the left hand turn that lead down the front straight, where Jimmy Wilson and Johnny Smith swapped fiberglass exiting the turn, which left Johnny Smith swimming after his ski. Wilson was subsequently black flagged for riding a little to aggressive and had to talk to the race director but was able to finish off some of the remaining laps of the race on board his Yamaha SuperJet. Both racers where OK and as the saying goes, “rubbin’ is racin’” sometimes. Broc Harris took the Moto 2 win.
Sport Spec and Sport GP both had a stacked field with some very talented riders on the line on Saturday. Sam Nehme of Borward Motorsports showed the field around in both Sport Spec and GP for the overall wins followed by notable riders such as Ken Waddle and Keith Dill hot on his heals just waiting for Sam to make a mistake.
Junior Ski class had intense battles in both motos between Sammy Nehme Jr., Hayden Skellet, and his sister and first time racer, Taylor Skellet who were going at it and showing us that the sport has a bright future with racers like them out on the track. Sammy Nehme Jr. took the overall win for Saturday and traded positions with Hayden Skellet who took the overall on Sunday. Great job, juniors.
Sunday brought a new challenge for the racers as Mikey Young decided to utilize an equalizer buoy to create some lead changes and also add a bit of strategy to the racer game on a course that already proved itself as having good areas for passing the day before.
Sunday’s Pro Ski GP was a Cinderella story for Brock Harris in Moto 1 as he pulled the holeshot and lead all 10 laps to victory. Moto 2 saw Broc holeshot once again, but this time had Jimmy Wilson hot on his heals with a good start. Wilson, riding aboard a Stock Spec SuperJet against a field mostly composed of 1100 triples showed that solid riding and hard charging can pay off as he was able to get passed Broc Harris when he chose to take the equalizer buoy. Jimmy extended his lead just far enough in front of Broc to be able to take the equalizer buoy and stay in front of Harris for the Moto 2 win. Great riding from all the guys in the class and the equalizer buoy proved it’s importance.
On Sunday, Sport Spec witnessed Sam Nehme win both Moto’s and take the overall win. This time however, in Sport GP. Sam Nehme watched the back end of Richard Taylor as he got to the finish line first aboard his GP Seadoo HX in Moto 1. Sam came back for the win in Moto 2 as Richard Taylor had to be towed in due to a mechanical issue. Sam walked away as the overall victor once again.
Team X-Scream’s Chris Langlais and Jayson “The Destroyer” Stoyer put down some impressive freestyle routines both days aboard their ultra lightweight and powerful machines and got the crowd worked up like they always do. Thanks goes out to those guys for coming out and putting on a great show.
Want to thank all the racer and their families for attending the event as well as all the sponsors that make these events possible. Without you guys, none of this could happen. A special thanks goes out to the City of Tavares for hosting such a great venue for us to enjoy as well as to the several first time racers that came out to see what racing is all about. We are glad we can share our addiction with you guys and welcome you to the race family.
All images courtesy of Kurt NgSaye. Originals can be viewed and purchased HERE.
Saturday Results- Round 3 Surf and Turf
June 13 Tavares, FL
Sport Spec: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Ken Waddle, 3. Keith Dill, 4. Ken Carpenter, 5. Shawn Renyolds, 6. Chad Eggleston, 7. Jessica Millone; Sport Modified: 1. Keith Dill, 2. Cody McCallum, 3. Rob Hoffman, 4. Shawn Renyolds, 5. Sam Nehme, 6. John Gordon; Women’s Runabout: 1. Tasha Siu, 2. Bill Beneker; Runabout Open: 1. Stan Hightower, 2. Steven Jurczak, 3. Rob Sayah; Junior Ski 10-15 Stock: 1. Sammy Nehme, 2. Hayden Skillet, 3. Taylor Skillet; Am Ski Ltd: 1. Paul Jordan, 2. Laura Millone, 3. Anne Bigsby, 4. Tony Cantalamessa, 5. Joe Suddeth; Pro Am Stock: 1. David Cabrerra, 2. Pete Kucinski; Am Ski Open: 1. Dustin Higdon; Pro Am Ski GP: 1. Broc Harris, 2. John Stevens, 3. James Wilson, 4. David Cabrera, 5. Kirk Britto, 6. Johnny Smith
Sunday Results Round 4 Surf and Turf 2015
June 14 Tavares, FL
Am Ski Ltd: 1. Laura Milone, 2. Anne Bigsby, 3. Jesse Snyder, 4. Tony Cantalamessa, 5. Paul Jordan, 6. Joe Suddeth, 7. Allen Clark; Pro Am Ski Stock: 1. David Cabrera, 2. Pete Kucinski; Am Ski Open: 1. Dustin Higdon; Sport Modified: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Keith Dill, 3. Cody McCallum, 4. Richard Taylor; 5. Rob Hoffman; Jr Ski 10-15 Stock: 1. Hayden Skillet, 2. Sammy Nehme, 3. Taylor Skillet; Runabout Open: 1. Stan Hightower, 2. Robert Sayah, 3. Steve Jurczak, 4. Eric Schulte; Sport Spec: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Ken Waddle, 3. Keith Dill, 4. Chad Eggleston, 5. Jessica Milone, 6. Shawn Reynolds, 7. Ken Carpenter; Pro Am Ski GP: 1. James Wilson, 2. Broc Harris, 3. David Cabrera, 4. Johnny Smith; Women’s Runabout: 1. Tasha Siu, 2. Bill Beneker
