The inaugural IHRA Professional Watercraft Series didn’t ease into existence. It showed up at St. Petersburg’s Spa Beach the last weekend of March with over 100 entries across ten classes, a television deal, Monster Energy on the rail, and something the PWC racing world hasn’t felt in a while — genuine electricity.
“In all, St. Pete was by far the best race event I have attended — at least in the last 30 years,” wrote Gary Burtka, a racer with roughly 250 events to his name, in a post that circulated widely after the weekend. “This team nailed it.”
He wasn’t alone. From former world champions to first-timers on the beach, the reaction was nearly uniform: this felt different.
The venue helped. Nestled between a powerboat grand prix and an arts festival on the downtown St. Pete waterfront, the IHRA paddock was a long way from a back-channel boat ramp. Helicopters buzzed overhead filming powerboat footage and occasionally swept across the PWC course. Tourists from Poland wandered over from the art tents. Kids swam in the shallows behind the start line. “We definitely had our place,” said Lamar Weldon, a racer who spent the weekend on the water as a credentialed course photographer and WCJ’s newest on-scene correspondent. “There were over 100 jet ski racers out there. We weren’t an afterthought.”
What set the tone beyond the backdrop was how the organization operated on the ground. Brad and Jaymi Bohat handled race management with a precision that racers noticed — not from a tower, but trackside, in IHRA jerseys, visibly working. “Every time I turned around I saw either Dustin, Brad, or Jaymi doing something,” Weldon said. “They’re hands-on. That makes a difference to the attitude.”
Dustin Farthing, the series founder and a legend in the sport, had done something else other promoters have consistently failed to do: he promoted. In the days before the event, he was in Tampa and St. Pete doing television interviews, building buzz in the mainstream market. The result was a live broadcast on Speed Sport 1, real-time timing at ihrapwc.livemotorsports.com, and a spectator crowd that actually showed up — and came back the next day.
On the water, the racing delivered. Coy Curtis dominated Pro Ski GP, sweeping all three motos and leaving little doubt about who starts the season as the one to beat. Jay Finlinson edged Deven Farthing by the narrowest possible margin to take Pro Endurance — both finished on 59 points after three motos. Garrett Loftin powered through brutal conditions to win Amateur Endurance 300, and River Varner took Women’s Ski GP to head into New Orleans as championship leader.
Those conditions were no joke. Saturday brought grey skies, 40 mph gusts, and chop that one racer described as waves “blowing white caps in your face.” Sunday’s Pro Ski GP Moto 3 turned into what the official IHRA page called “a full-on freestyle session.”
Kayden Baldwin — son of champion Brian Baldwin — took a chest-first impact into the bars in Moto 1 and raced several more laps unable to breathe before pulling in. He’ll be in New Orleans. So will Todd Czarcinski, who ran three holeshots on his way to second in Amateur Endurance 300 and showed up to his post-race social media still apparently vibrating: “Wow……Wow!”
Sport Spec produced one of the weekend’s more unusual storylines — Matt Johnson, Talan Farthing, and Straus Mernik each took a moto win and ended the weekend on identical points. Johnson takes the overall by tiebreaker, but all three are deadlocked heading into Round 2.
The overall verdict from the paddock was best put by Sadie Mir, who finished 3rd in Ski GP2 racing sick against a field she called “truly next level”: “The fans, atmosphere, professionalism, cash prizes, and social reach is something the USA hasn’t seen in years.”
Next Stop: New Orleans
The IHRA National Tour moves to New Orleans next weekend, April 10–12, at 7901 Breakwater Drive. Pit gates open Thursday morning at 9 a.m. The schedule mirrors St. Pete’s format with one addition — dedicated on-course endurance practice Friday afternoon. The Yamaha partnership announced this week adds factory muscle to a series that already showed up swinging. Round 1 set the bar. Round 2 starts Thursday.
Round 1 Overall Results
Amateur Endurance 200 (4 entries)
1 #297 BARON MERNIK 75 pts
2 #117 ANDY MARTINEZ 55 pts
3 #71 KEVIN SULLIVAN 52 pts
Amateur Endurance 300 (32 entries)
1 #114 GARRETT LOFTIN 70 pts
2 #46 TODD CZARCINSKI 45 pts
3 #706 NOAH DALLI 44 pts
Pro Endurance Overall Results (20 entries)
1 #55 JAY FINLINSON 59 pts
2 #6 DEVEN FARTHING 59 pts
3 #373 NOAH SKIPPS 51 pts
Runabout GP3 (7 entries)
1 v2 JASON SEELEY 161 pts
2 #BR1 MASSIMO CASARINI 149 pts
3 #361 ERIC LAGOPOULOS 146 pts
Ski GP (20 entries)
1 #155 COY CURTIS 180 pts
2 #100 REVIN HARRIS 159 pts
3 #98 QUINTEN BOSSCHE 125 pts
Ski GP Womens (4 entries)
1 #23 RIVER VARNER 173 pts
2 v11 EMY GARCIA 156 pts
3 #851 BRITTON REINHARD 154 pts
Ski GP2 (9 entries)
1 #912 RICK SHERKER 173 pts
2 #27 DAVI PRADO 156 pts
3 #335 SADIE MIR 144 pts
Ski GP3 (12 entries)
1 #177 KASHE CRAWFORD 168 pts
2 #53 GARY HOLBEIN JR. 154 pts
3 v851 BRITTON REINHARD 139 pts
Ski Junior (9 entries)
1 #23 CAMERON SPOONER 166 pts
2 #33 CASH MCCLURE 149 pts
3 #11 ANDY GARCIA 147 pts
Sport Spec (13 entries)
1 #277 MATT JOHNSON 161 pts
2 #521 TALAN FARTHING 161 pts
3 #110 STRAUS MERNIK 161 pts
