If there was one lesson to be learned this past weekend it was that it pays to ride a Yamaha. Yamaha racers completely shut out the competition sweeping the podium in all three motos of the Pro class, with Chris MacClugage dominating the weekend aboard a FX SVHO. MacClugage – who with his wife, Rachel, started the week by celebrating the birth of their son, Marco – was followed by RIVA Yamaha racer Eric Francis, and Dean’s Team pilot Aero Aswar, both riding GP1800s.
MacClugage also battled with Yamaha rider Brian Baldwin, while Aswar was challenged by lone Sea-Doo rider Erminio Iantosca. Nicholas Rius, also aboard a Yamaha GP1800, was unable to continue competing on Sunday after a back injury during Saturday’s moto.
Here’s the original press release:
Daytona Beach, Fla. — April 24, 2017 — The high winds on the Florida coast delivered brutal conditions for the watercraft racers at the P1 AquaX opener held this weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla.; as the majority struggled to keep pace with Yamaha FX SVHO rider Chris MacClugage who swept all three motos in the premier Enduro Pro class.
Joining in on the sweep were Yamaha GP1800 riders Eric Francis and Aero Aswar who finished 2-3 overall. Francis made huge news over the winter when he switched to Yamaha from his longtime sponsor Kawasaki.
MacClugage’s tactic of coming closer to shore on the home straight saw him produce the highest speeds of anyone in race three, although Francis seemed to have the edge in the corners and was certainly explosive off the start line.
Aswar, the current #1 rider in the World rankings endured a mixed weekend but his third place finish in moto three was enough to put him into third for the weekend, shutting down any chance for a Kawasaki or Sea-Doo overall podium finish.
“For the first race of the year, the new GP1800 came out in force even in the super rough conditions usually dominated by the FX SVHO,” said Yamaha’s race director Scott Watkins. “Whereas most brands hope for one model to put out a strong showing, we have two models that offer the reliability, durability and performance our racers need to sweep the podium in all conditions.”
P1 AquaX racing now heads to Florida’s St. Pete Beach on June 17-18. (Photo credit: Ronny Mac/P1 AquaX)
