It was bound to happen, we suppose. Troy Snyder announced on Liquid Speed Radio last night that he will be switching from competing aboard a Sea-Doo RXP-X to racing on a Yamaha FZR SVHO for 2014. The supercharged 1.8L Yamaha will be built by the nearly unstoppable Dean’s Team, who has shown a tremendous affinity for the new SVHO plant.
Snyder beamed on the show, “I’d really like to thank Dean Charrier. He and Scott Watkins are really the guys who put this whole deal together for me.” This of course, ups the ante between the simmering rivalry between he and National Stock Class Champion Eric Francis, who will be piloting a 310-horsepower Ultra 310X for 2014.
Moreover, Snyder states he will abscond with his usual #110 number plate for a more suitable #2, as Snyder earned said ranking in 2013. “Hopefully we will be able to change that to a #1 in the near future,” Snyder said.
Following Snyder across battle lines will be main mechanic, Bo Dupriest. Additionally, sponsors Slippery Wetsuits and RIVA Racing will also continue supporting Snyder’s racing efforts, “RIVA and Dave Bamdas were a big part of my program last year, and he was real excited to hear I made the switch to Yamaha.”
Yet, central to Snyder’s efforts is Tim Judge of Judge Motorsports. Judge will continue to support Synder through this transition. Synder told The Watercraft Journal, “Tim is my mentor, race coach, he’s my on-the-water tuner. He rides all my boats before I go to the line. Tim is a racer himself with multiple world titles. He knows what racers want to feel and how it needs to feel through the power band. He’s a big part of my program.”