JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Professional watercross will crown its national champion in Vilano Beach this weekend.
The LiquiMoly ProWatercross National Tour will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. The professional motos will start at 5 p.m. that afternoon. Amateur events take to the water Sunday at 11 a.m. and the final round starts at 2 p.m.
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Pro watercross consists of personal watercraft like Jet Skis, WaveRunners and SeaDoos racing around buoys on a ½ to 3/4 -mile track. There are multiple events in the tour, including sprint, offshore and endurance classes, among others.
The Vilano stop became the season-ending and championship event when the original calendar date next weekend in Palm Beach was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The original 2020 national schedule had eight events scheduled from April through August, although wound up as only three due to the coronavirus.
“While we are disappointed we don’t get to race next weekend, we are excited that we are able to have name the LiquiMoly ProWatercross national champions this weekend,” said AJ Handler, CEO of the LiquiMoly Prowatercross Tour. “We are looking forward to a great championship event at a beautiful venue here in Vilano Beach, who has done so much to embrace the event.”
Brian Baldwin, riding a Kawasaki craft, leads Yamaha rider Troy Snyder, 108-106 entering Vilano. Baldwin is the only Kawasaki rider ranked in the series’ top 14.
“It takes a team effort to bring nationally televised events like this to our area and we couldn’t do this without the support of the entire community,” said Alan Verlander, CEO of Airstream Ventures, one of the groups that helped bring the event to the area. “We are excited that our event has been designated the national championship and look forward to a great weekend of racing.”