BY DIANE GILES
[email protected]
PLEASANT PRAIRIE ? With a roar, the Jet Skis of the Great Lakes Watercross Tour returned to Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie Saturday.
Thirty racers competed in Jet Ski, runabout and freestyle events, drawing curious onlookers to watch the fast-paced action.
Competitors raced for high points, points toward national tallies, and a possible invitation to the world championships later this year.
The event was the opening rounds of the year for the Great Lakes Watercross Tour, sanctioned by the International Jet Sports Boating Association.
It was the sixth time in five years the event has been held on the lake, race director Scott Hyke said.
One of the high points in the entertainment was the freestyle competition, where showmanship is the name of the game.
Performing tricks with names such as Suicide Sub, 180-Degree Nose Stab and The Bulldog, the riders are graded on their tricks.
Gary Burka of Chicago finished his two-minute routine with a ?Fountain of Youth,? sitting backward on the nose of his Jet Ski, with the back end of the ski high in the air, sprouting water 35-feet high in the sky.
While racing on glassy waters is easier on speedsters, freestyle competitors have to dig deep for tricks.
?Doing tricks is hard on flat water,? freestyle judge Nanette Grissom said. ?It?s more of a challenge.?
Kenoshan Joe Bohaczek, 40, is an experienced racer, running in the pro-am and expert runabout divisions.
He was in second place halfway through the day?s racing, but said that because of the way the event is structured, it was the remaining races that would determine everyone?s final results.
Bohaczek rides a 215 horsepower Sea Doo RXP. He started out 14 years ago racing stand-up Jet Skis, but now competes in the runabout division, where the pilot sits on the watercraft.
?I used to run standups, but I?m too old for that now,? Bohaczek said. ?My heart says ?yes,? but my back says ?no?.?
It was beginner?s luck for Kenosha native Matt Johnson of Racine who had won a pair of races in the first half of the event on his 185 horsepower Honda Aquatrax R-12X.
?I love it; it?s great,? Johnson said. ?It?s my first time, and everyone?s so nice here. Everyone has helped me out anyway they can. It?s fun.?
The tour is scheduled to race on Lake Michigan off of Pennoyer Park in Kenosha July 25-26. The family-oriented event is free to fans.
The waves on Lake Michigan are more challenging than the still waters of Lake Andrea, Bohaczek said, adding that he likes it better on the big lake.
?And just because you have the fastest ski doesn?t necessarily mean you win out there,? he said. ?It?s a lot harder.?
For the full article and pictures please go to The Kenosha News
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