There once was a time when the world of offshore racing almost strictly belonged to Kawasaki – and more specifically, the lauded Long Beach-to-Catalina Offshore Championship (LB2CAT), having been ruled by Team Green racer Craig Warner. The 56-mile round trip race used to welcome a field of 50-to-60 racers, but with the almost shut-out domination of Kawasaki over the previous decade, many simply opted not to go, dropping that number to less than half. And while the big, deep-V Ultra retains its offshore-prowess street credibility, this past weekend’s upset win turned the world of offshore racing on its head.
That’s right; not only did a non-Kawasaki take the win – namely Yamaha – but a GP1800, a craft otherwise purpose-built for closed course dominance, piloted by Karujet champion Cyrille Lemoine. Oh, and Lemoine wasn’t alone, 4-out-0f-the Top 5 were Yamahas, with a Kawasaki grabbing the 5th spot. The Frenchman turned Southern Californian is an accomplished RIVA Yamaha team rider, who bested the likes of billion-time IJSBA champion Mike Klippenstein of Canada, Australian Christian D’Agostin, SoCal local Mark Gerner, and Georgian-via-Californian Craig Warner.
The latter two suffered mechanical failures aboard their turbocharged Ultras that took them out of the running. Klipper blew in from the Great White North with little time to prepare – having suffered an engine failure the day before, requiring a 24 hour motor swap. Skies were clear (apart from the typical grey overcast Pacific marine layer) and ocean conditions were less than ideal – that is, depending upon who you ask – but that meant little to the honed athleticism of Lemoine who charged hard in his SVHO-powered GP1800 all the way to the finish line. So, what’s the take away? Just because you don’t own a Kawasaki doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance at winning. Run what you brung and enjoy it! Below are the unedited results:
Overall Results:
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Time Class
1st – Cyrille Lemoine, Irvine, CA #9 Yam 54 Mins 10 Sec Pro/Am Open
2nd -Mike Klippenstein, Ft. MacMurray, Al, Canada, #212 Yam 54 Mins 33 Sec Pro/Am Open
3rd- Cassius Sanders, Redondo Beach, CA #72 Yam 59 Mins 24 Sec Mfg. Stock
4th – Christian D’Agostin, Queensland, Australia, #1A Yam 59 Mins 36 Sec Pro/Am Open
5th- Paul Pham, Los Angeles, CA #99 Kaw 1 Hour 2 Mins 46 Sec Vet/Master Open
6th- Bill Scott, Lake Havasu City, AZ #102 Kaw 1 Hour 4 Mins 52 Sec 4 Stroke Stock
7th- Derek Diep, Canoga Park, CA #789 Yam 1 Hour 5 Mins 36 Sec 4 Stroke Stock
8th- Jeff Lane Anaheim, CA #83 Kaw 1 hour 6 Mins 21 Sec Vet/Master
9th – Santiago Kuan, Whittier, CA #30 Yam 1 Hour 6 Mins 30 Sec 4 Stroke Stock
10th- Sam Deluca, Huntington Beach, CA #13 Yam 1 Hour 6 Mins 50 Sec Mfg. Stock
11th- Brittany Behringer, Simi Valley, CA #805 Yam 1 Hour 9 Mins 42 Sec 4 Stroke Stock
12th- Akira Tanaka, Torrance, CA #470 Kaw 1 Hour 13 Mins 30 Sec Vet/Master Open
13th- David Palmer, Irvine, CA #13 Yam 1 Hour 14 Mins 10 Sec Pro/Am Open
14th- Arteem Kharatt, Yorba Linda, CA #55 Sea 1 Hour 15 Min 25 Sec 4 Stroke Stock
15th- Sean Conner, Sparks, NV # 711 Yam 1 Hour 15 Min 43 Sec Pro/Am Open
16th- KC Heidler, Irvine, CA # 2 Kaw 1 Hour 17 Min 50 Sec Pro/Am Open
17th- David Uhler, Mercer Island, WA #77 Kaw 1 Hour 19 Min 15 Sec Mfg. Stock
18th- Don Adams, San Diego, CA #18 Yam 1 Hour 28 Min 2 Sec Yam Mfg. Stock
19th- Frank Gavit, San Marcos, CA #75 Kaw 1 Hour 26 Min 48 Sec Mfg. Stock
20th- Dan Lingren, Aberdeen, WA #311 Kaw 1 Hour 35 Min 12 Sec Mg. Stock
DNF Michael Perry, Fallbrook, CA #27x Mfg. Stock
DNF Charlie Martinez, Buena Park, CA #9 Sea 4 Stroke Stock
DNF Tony Hoa, San Gabriel, CA #69 Yam Pro/Am Open
DNF Craig Warner Dallas, GA #7 Kaw Pro/Am Open
DNF Mark Gerner, Aliso Viejo, CA #58 Pro/Am Open
IJSBA Offshore National Championships
Results by Class:
Pro/Am Open
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st – Cyrille Lemoine, Irvine, CA #9 Yam 54 Mins 10 Sec
2nd -Mike Klippenstein, Ft. MacMurray, Al, Canada, #212 Yam 54 Mins 33 Sec
3rd- Christian D’Agostin, Queensland, Australia, #1A Yam 59 Mins 36 Sec
4th- David Palmer, Irvine, CA #13 Yam 1 Hour 14 Mins 10 Sec
5th- Sean Conner, Sparks, NV # 711 Yam 1 Hour 15 Min 43 Sec
6th- KC Heidler, Irvine, CA # 2 Kaw 1 Hour 17 Min 50 Sec
DNF Tony Hoa, San Gabriel, CA #69 Yam
DNF Craig Warner Dallas, GA #7 Kaw
DNF Mark Gerner, Aliso Viejo, CA #58 Kaw
Vet/Master Open
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st- Paul Pham, Los Angeles, CA #99 Kaw 1 Hour 2 Mins 46 Sec
2nd – Jeff Lane Anaheim, CA #83 Kaw 1 hour 6 Mins 21 Sec
3rd – Akira Tanaka, Torrance, CA #470 Kaw 1 Hour 13 Mins 30 Sec
4 Stroke Stock
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st – Bill Scott, Lake Havasu City, AZ #102 Kaw 1 Hour 4 Mins 52 Sec
2nd – Derek Diep, Canoga Park, CA #789 Yam 1 Hour 5 Mins 36 Sec
3rd – Santiago Kuan, Whittier, CA #30 Yam 1 Hour 6 Mins 30 Sec
4th- Brittany Behringer, Simi Valley, CA #805 Yam 1 Hour 9 Mins 42 Sec
5th – Arteem Kharatt, Yorba Linda, CA #55 Sea 1 Hour 15 Min 25 Sec
DNF Charlie Martinez, Buena Park, CA #9 Sea
Mfg. Stock
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st- Cassius Sanders, Redondo Beach, CA #72 Yam 59 Mins 24 Sec
2nd- Sam Deluca, Huntington Beach, CA #13 Yam 1 Hour 6 Mins 50 Sec
3rd – David Uhler, Mercer Island, WA #77 Kaw 1 Hour 19 Min 15 Sec
4th- Don Adams, San Diego, CA #18 Yam 1 Hour 28 Min 2 Sec Yam
5th – Frank Gavit, San Marcos, CA #75 Kaw 1 Hour 26 Min 48 Sec
6th – Dan Lingren, Aberdeen, WA #311 Kaw 1 Hour 35 Min 12 Sec
DNF Michael Perry, Fallbrook, CA #27x
