2018 THAI AIRWAYS JET SKI WORLD CUP
The hype around the 2018 Thai Airways Jet Ski World Cup lived up to its name being one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar and the biggest and most lucrative jet ski race in the world.
PRO SKI GRANDPRIX
The Pro Ski GrandPrix saw some close, hard fought action between the best pilots in the world. The top competitors battled throughout each of the 4 motos with Jetpilot team riders stamping their domination on this years World Cup. Kevin Reiterer took out the win in the 1st moto, followed closely by Raphael Maurin and then Quinten Vandenbossche.
Athlete: Kevin Reiterer Source: @bombphotography
The Next 2 Moto’s was a fight for pole position seeing Quinten claiming victory for Moto 2 and Jeremy Poret grabbing the win for Moto 3. Going into the 4th and final Moto saw Kevin Reitererahead by only 10 points followed closely by Raphael Maurin and Quinten Vandenbossche.
Tensions were high in the air with each athlete wanting to claim victory for the Pro Ski Grandprix, unfortunately Kevin experienced some technical issues with his jet ski giving Quinten and Raphael the upper hand to fight it out for the win. After an epic performance by both athletes Raphael Maurin kicked it up a gear showing his superior class and speed to cross the finish line first crowning him the 2018 Pro Ski GrandPrix Champion. It was great to see the podium filled with Jetpilot team riders. Congratulations to all the athletes that competed in this class and for all the hard work you put in all year around
Athlete: Raphael Maurin Source: @raphm44
TOP 6 STANDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS;
- Raphael Maurin – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Quinten Vandenbossche – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Kevin Reiterer – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Mickael Poret – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Jeremy Poret – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Valentin Dardillat – Jetpilot Team Rider
PRO SPORT GP
It was a day of speed and precision riding, Jetpilot team rider Chris McCluggage come in a comfortable second place for the first 2 Moto’s in the Pro Sport GP class. With a convincing win in Motto 3 Chris equalised the playing field heading into the final Motto tied on 166 points with his fellow United States competitor Christian Daly.
Both athletes had to give their all to take home the gold but unfortunately this year the reigning champ Chris McCluggage fell a little short opening the door for Christian who finished strong to take the win and be crowned as the 2018 Pro Sport GP Champion.
Athlete: Chris McCluggage, Christian Daly Source: @chrismccluggage
TOP 3 STANDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS;
- Christian Daly
- Chris McCluggage – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Supuk Settura
PRO FREESTYLE
The Pro Freestyle event saw 2 moto’s featuring Jetpilot team rider and all star Mark Gomez giving the a crowd a show to remember. Taiji Yamamoto turned up the heat forcing Gomez to bring his A game. The two battled it out with Gomez coming out on top after the first run placing him three points ahead of Yamamoto.
The second run was seen to be the decider with some big scores across the board. Overall Gomezwas too good on the day showing his huge variety of technical chains of tricks claiming victory by six points crowning him the 2018 Pro Freestyle Champion.
Athlete: Tanner Thomas, Mark Gomez Source: @markgomez137
TOP 3 STANDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS;
- Mark Gomez – Jetpilot Team Rider
- Taiji Yamamoto
- Kazuaki Sakaida
PRO-AM WOMEN SKI LIMITED
This class featured two of Sweden’s best and Jetpilot team riders Emma Nellie Ortendahl and Jonna Borgstrom. Borgstrom was in a comfortable position after Moto 1 finishing second behind Emi Tanaka whilst Ortendahl crossed the line in fourth. Moto 2 saw Ortendahl jump right back in the race claiming victory with Borgstrom finishing fourth. Moto 3 separated the pack with the top 5 positions in reach to claim gold.
Going into Moto 4 saw the two Swedish athletes in the top 3. It was going to be tough to beat Tanaka in the final moto but outside contender Mayumi Okano crossed the line first sneaking into a third overall position for the Pro-Am Women Ski Limited. Ortendahl finished fourth and Borgstrom claimed the silver making Tanaka the 2018 Pro-AM Women Ski Limited Champion.
Athlete: Emma Nellie Ortendahl, Jonna Borgstrom, Emi Tanaka, Mayumi Okano Source: @emmannellie
TOP 4 STANDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS;
- Emi Tanaka
- Jonna Borgstrom
- Mayumi Okano
- Emma Nellie Ortendahl
Shout outs to the other Aussie Riders that lined up at this years World Cup.
Pro Runabout GP
Guy Greenland 4th Place
Bailey Cunningham 8th Place
Amatuer Ski Kawasaki 1500 Stock
Tom Aiken 4th Place