No Rius & Zapata at World Finals

[#1fan]

Since there will be no GP class at the World Finals this year, Nicolas Rius and Franky Zapata will not be competing. They will both be sorely missed.

[yamaslut]

People still race them ski jet thangs?????

:biggrin:

Our sport is so lame.....

[SuperJETT]

It's a big deal to the racing community. Kinda like when Jacobs retired (I forget which time...)

[Matt_E]

i get the feeling next year will be a year of many changes for our sport..

Dejavu.

[Big Kahuna]

well, the GP class is not recognized throughout the world............. you cannot tell me that they do not still have there S.S. Race Boats.......
Whatever, let them cry.

[RonnyMac]

Rius is a name I know well. Never heard of Zapata.
There are way too many classes now anyway. When the sport was at its biggest with 30 thousand + spectators in Havasu there were 2 pro classes. Pro mod and pro SS. Major sponsors like Budwieser, and weekly ESPN tour coverage.
The sport had a recipe for success with a focus on the best riders on standups on tight technical courses.
Promoters then saw an opportunity to make more money by opening up racing to all PWC with seeminly endless classes. More entry fees right!
The manufacturers did everything they could to help this change. They wanted to promote the high dollar couches they were selling like hotcakes. They even made their sponsored riders race the couches. Jeff Jacobs never gave in. For that he will always be my hero!
Well the courses got huge to accommodate for the sitdowns with lots of new classes which caused confusion for the viewers. Racing turned into long straits with fewer turns which made for boring follow the leader type races. Rider talent has been replaced with boat speed.
Take motocross for example...
You have MX bikes in a sport doing well. Then they make new bikes, bigger and easy to ride with the family in mind. They then decide to change MX tracks drastically for the newer bikes which the manufacturers are selling more of and you kill the sport. The skill of the riders is replaced with strait line speed. Luckily that didnt happen in MX, and they even took it further to the technical side with Supercross.

You would think the PWC powers that be would learn from their mistakes.

[Masher500]

They even made their sponsored riders race the couches. Jeff Jacobs never gave in. For that he will always be my hero!

Actually he did race a sit down a few times for Riva, but didnt do so well...:shhh: :shhh: :shhh: :shhh:

[RonnyMac]

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Big Kahuna]

Yup, The Jammer Got Jammed into racing a few times...... I probably missed bouys on purpose!!!!!!!!!!!! "That Jacobs fellow is great on a Pole ski thingy, but he sucks on a Skidoo."..................

[RadRat]

Ronny's right!!!

[Tiny]

Rius is a name I know well. Never heard of Zapata.
There are way too many classes now anyway. When the sport was at its biggest with 30 thousand + spectators in Havasu there were 2 pro classes. Pro mod and pro SS. Major sponsors like Budwieser, and weekly ESPN tour coverage.
The sport had a recipe for success with a focus on the best riders on standups on tight technical courses.
Promoters then saw an opportunity to make more money by opening up racing to all PWC with seeminly endless classes. More entry fees right!
The manufacturers did everything they could to help this change. They wanted to promote the high dollar couches they were selling like hotcakes. They even made their sponsored riders race the couches. Jeff Jacobs never gave in. For that he will always be my hero!
Well the courses got huge to accommodate for the sitdowns with lots of new classes which caused confusion for the viewers. Racing turned into long straits with fewer turns which made for boring follow the leader type races. Rider talent has been replaced with boat speed.
Take motocross for example...
You have MX bikes in a sport doing well. Then they make new bikes, bigger and easy to ride with the family in mind. They then decide to change MX tracks drastically for the newer bikes which the manufacturers are selling more of and you kill the sport. The skill of the riders is replaced with strait line speed. Luckily that didnt happen in MX, and they even took it further to the technical side with Supercross.

You would think the PWC powers that be would learn from their mistakes.



Zapata is the guy who drop kicked David Pulley(sp) last year in Havasu after Pro 1200....


On another note, I agree with Ronny on some of his statements, but I completely disagree with your comment of rider talent being replaced by boat speed....We all know that you dont care for the couches Ronny, but until you man up and ride one of these 75 plus MPH missles in the chop/surf/race conditions, I dont think you know what you are talking about............

Now, back to the GP class....Why all the fuss now..we have never had it before, why now???Tell those whiners to run SS and get over it......

[Scorn800]

Not that I'm the biggest Rius fan (I like green) but come on.. What's up with no GP?

[RonnyMac]

We all know that you dont care for the couches Ronny, but until you man up and ride one of these 75 plus MPH missles in the chop/surf/race conditions, I dont think you know what you are talking about............


No interest whatsoever here Tiny. I'll stick the real ski's. :biggrin:

BTW, Never heard of Pully either.

[sclevela]

This Just In











I Won Be At World Finals Now That Ive Read This Thread











My Fans Can Now Go Start A Thread For Me Also!











Ill Wait

[FL-cracker]

Standups+ sport classes only!!!!!! Couches are for the birds!!!!!!! Jet Ski racing will never be what it use to. IMO

[momarski]

yes their is 48 classes at the world finals this year, their should only be 11
f1 or gp standup
f1 or gp couch
f2 or limited standup
f3 or stock standup
f2 ladies limited ski
f2 or limited couch
f3 or stock couch
f2 or limited juniors
f3 or stock juniors
sport
pro freestyle

as far as franky and nicolas let the riders who race against them vote, I know the real men and women will vote yes to have the fastest competition possible to race againts, its a honor to ride against nicolas and franky is the one to beat now in the couch class, I see no difference in the factory supercharged kawis and frankys supercharged sea doo, how could they not call alot of the boats in that class gp, their engines and ignitions are mega crazy exspenive and mega fast, their all gp if you ask me, hey if theirs anyone who hates the couch its me but I donot hate the couch riders, some of them just wanted a career out of jet ski racing and some of em are confused!!!

[jetskiking]

Ronny you are totally correct. Having classes for just about every ski out there is the equivelent of having pontoon boat races.

[fitzen101]

Since there will be no GP class at the World Finals this year, Nicolas Rius and Franky Zapata will not be competing. They will both be sorely missed.nedra your too nice. i for one could'nt care less about either one those guys. they both have bad attitudes and both could use a good a** kicking, which i'd love to give either one. if they can't make arrangments to race classes at the finals, then screw them!

[Chopper]

Rius is a name I know well. Never heard of Zapata.
There are way too many classes now anyway. When the sport was at its biggest with 30 thousand + spectators in Havasu there were 2 pro classes. Pro mod and pro SS. Major sponsors like Budwieser, and weekly ESPN tour coverage.
The sport had a recipe for success with a focus on the best riders on standups on tight technical courses.
Promoters then saw an opportunity to make more money by opening up racing to all PWC with seeminly endless classes. More entry fees right!
The manufacturers did everything they could to help this change. They wanted to promote the high dollar couches they were selling like hotcakes. They even made their sponsored riders race the couches. Jeff Jacobs never gave in. For that he will always be my hero!
Well the courses got huge to accommodate for the sitdowns with lots of new classes which caused confusion for the viewers. Racing turned into long straits with fewer turns which made for boring follow the leader type races. Rider talent has been replaced with boat speed.
Take motocross for example...
You have MX bikes in a sport doing well. Then they make new bikes, bigger and easy to ride with the family in mind. They then decide to change MX tracks drastically for the newer bikes which the manufacturers are selling more of and you kill the sport. The skill of the riders is replaced with strait line speed. Luckily that didnt happen in MX, and they even took it further to the technical side with Supercross.

You would think the PWC powers that be would learn from their mistakes.


I vote that Ronny takes over the IJSBA... He has some great thoughts there and points out some facts that are all to true.:hail:

[sclevela]

I vote that Ronny takes over the IJSBA... He has some great thoughts there and points out some facts that are all to true.:hail:


um do u not like ronny?


u obviously werent at the last riot ride watchin him scamper and twitch all weekend trying to make sure that went perfect........... if he ran the ijsba id give him a week before he slit his wrists due to a lack of 100% satisfaction lol

[waxhead]

i had to go look at the top and make sure i wanst on pwctoday
is that really mommar posting on here

[Moondance]

i ahd to go look at the top and make sure i wanst on pwctoday
is that really mommar posting on here:27: don't rattle his cage

[waxhead]

Ha ha
i dont mind mommar

Its interesting to read his posts

[RonnyMac]

S.U.J.S.A
Wouldnt that be nice!

[JC15 :aka Josh:]

Sucks Ruis isn't racing, He's fun to watch and the few times I've talked him, he's very cool.

Let me point out something. RUIS CHOOSE NOT TO RACE SS. End of discussion. If ruis wanted to race SS at the WFs, you know he would and could. Let me write this in crayon for those that don't comprehend:

RUIS CHOOSE TO RACE GP THIS YEAR, knowing full well that he wouldn't qualify for Pro Ski Super Stock, becasue he raced GP in Euope.

So don't blame anyone but Nicolas.


As for Zapata, F him. He's a tool shed, a punk, and a looser for fighting instead of racing like a man. He's not racing because the terms of his punishment with the IJSBA is to not participate in the 2006 IJSBA world finals.
The WFs will be MUCH more fun to watch without someone trying to ram other boats. The excuse of mot having a GP class is purely a distraction from him lack of manliness where it counts.

[Chopper]

um do u not like ronny?


u obviously werent at the last riot ride watchin him scamper and twitch all weekend trying to make sure that went perfect........... if he ran the ijsba id give him a week before he slit his wrists due to a lack of 100% satisfaction lol


No, I do like ronny and all of the photos he takes too. I posted that because the ideas that he stated were 100% true, and the comparisons to MX and SX are real too. I have made many comparisons to MX and SX on other message boards and I always get shut down. The fact is that all watercross is, is supercross or motocross on the water, especially when the race is done in the Ocean or on one of the Great Lakes where there is good surf!

Sorry that my previous post was miss understood.

The bottom line is that we need to go back to the days of when watercross was huge: Tighter / technical courses, good features for spectators. Add some things such as a Leader board so the spectators can actually follow the racing and things could potentally get really good. Anyhow, as we all know this the place for positive ideas. I am just :arms: what Ronny said because he was spot on with his thoughts!

Josh

[RonnyMac]

Thanks Josh! :)

[Nascency Chris]

No, I do like ronny and all of the photos he takes too. I posted that because the ideas that he stated were 100% true, and the comparisons to MX and SX are real too. I have made many comparisons to MX and SX on other message boards and I always get shut down. The fact is that all watercross is, is supercross or motocross on the water, especially when the race is done in the Ocean or on one of the Great Lakes where there is good surf!

Sorry that my previous post was miss understood.

The bottom line is that we need to go back to the days of when watercross was huge: Tighter / technical courses, good features for spectators. Add some things such as a Leader board so the spectators can actually follow the racing and things could potentally get really good. Anyhow, as we all know this the place for positive ideas. I am just :arms: what Ronny said because he was spot on with his thoughts!

Josh

i think you misunderstood what sclevela said, it was more in the context of "almost anyone would have a hard time handling the pressure of running such an organization such as this, and ronny, with his attention to detail and forethought on the future of stand up racing, would probably go crazy dealing with some of the attitudes and shortcomings of others."

of course, he may also just be looking for someone to slit their own wrists for his own twisted enjoyment (and it will probably be me now) in that "hetero looking for a male life companion" sort of way that only sclevela can...:biggrin:


<--ducking and running...:biggrin:

[Chopper]

Ok,

Here are my thoughts on the actual topic... Both Rius and Zapata knew going into the Euro season that what they are racing on are not homologated for the WF. Last year while I was in Havasu I ran into Rius at the Martini bar and he told me that he was not going to race Runabout, and he was just going to race ski class... Well he ended up winning the R/A class. So I honestly would not count him out. I would be willing to bet that on saturday morning when they line up for qualifying Rius is there. Afterall he lives and trains in Havasu 2/3rds of the year (at least I hope he is on the line, ski class needes all the tallent it can get)

As far as Zapata, he probably would not have come back anyhow due to the incident from last season.

[kid4now]

Ok I have a question and you can take it to full dummy statis if you want.

What is the GP class ? What does GP stand for ? :rolleyes:

[Big Kahuna]

Ok I have a question and you can take it to full dummy statis if you want.

What is the GP class ? What does GP stand for ? :rolleyes:

Why does Yamasaki need saving????:dunno:

[yamaslut]

brads a little slow....

hey Brad, you comming up this weekend???

[kid4now]

Nick, sorry but I cant make it this weekend have fun for me :biggthumpup: .

Kahuna, why does saki need saving? Just give it a day or two. This way I dont have to put the save yamasaki sign back up :noevil: .


So now asnswer my dam question what does GP stand for ???

[Chopper]

Ok I have a question and you can take it to full dummy statis if you want.

What is the GP class ? What does GP stand for ? :rolleyes:

I believe that GP stands for Gran Prix... It is basically Mod Class: Anything goes if you can build it you can race it. I am not sure what Zapata is on but rius has a new "prototype" superjet and so far the rumor is that there is a total of five that he has. This is a new hull and engine package. Under current IJSBA rules this ski that he has been racing in the "GP" class would not be legal for the World Finals. I hope that helps!

[sclevela]

i think you misunderstood what sclevela said, it was more in the context of "almost anyone would have a hard time handling the pressure of running such an organization such as this, and ronny, with his attention to detail and forethought on the future of stand up racing, would probably go crazy dealing with some of the attitudes and shortcomings of others."

of course, he may also just be looking for someone to slit their own wrists for his own twisted enjoyment (and it will probably be me now) in that "hetero looking for a male life companion" sort of way that only sclevela can...:biggrin:


<--ducking and running...:biggrin:



your son and i are organizing and army to pummel u as i type!

[Nascency Chris]

your son and i are organizing and army to pummel u as i type!


naw im all good, i just built him a lego city in the basement...i have amnesty for at least a week...:cool2:

[sclevela]

naw im all good, i just built him a lego city in the basement...i have amnesty for at least a week...:cool2:


he hates u

[the only couch rider]

those are the classes for the 2006 World Finals...... GP class has never been offered here as far as i know..... zapata and rius both have run open/ss the last couple of years..... i dunno why they don't wanna run unless they don't think their boats are competitive because of maybe different rules or what not...

i know ronny's views, momars views, and everyone else's views about the stand up/sit down debate..... i think to each their own..... arguing and bitching about it only weakens the sport. be happy the fact there still is a havasu and world finals and the sport of racing in general


1. Pro Ski Open
2. Pro Runabout Open
3. Pro Freestyle
4. Pro Ski Stock

5. Pro Am Runabout Stock
6. ProAm Women’s Ski Limited
7. ProAm Runabout 800 Open
8. ProAm Runabout 4 Stroke Limited*

9. Expert Ski Stock
10. Expert Ski Limited
11. Expert Runabout 1200 Limited
12. Expert Veterans Ski Open

13. Amateur Runabout 1200 Open
14. Amateur Ski Lites**
15. Amateur Runabout 4 Stroke Stock
16. Amateur Freestyle
17. Amateur Ski Open
18. Amateur Veterans Runabout 1200 Open
19. Amateur Runabout 800 Limited
20. Amateur Runabout 800 Open***

21. Novice Runabout Stock
22. Novice Ski Stock
23. Novice Ski Limited
24. Novice Runabout Limited
25. Novice Veterans Ski Limited
26. Novice Veterans Ski Open
27. Novice Runabout 4 Stroke Stock

28. Novice Women's Ski
29. Women’s Runabout Limited
30. Sport Modified
31. Masters Ski Stock
32. Masters Ski Open
33. Supercourse****

34. Junior Ski 10-12 Stock*****
35. Junior Ski 10-12 Lites**
36. Junior Ski 13-15 Stock*****
37. Junior Ski 13-15 Lites**
38. Junior Ski 13-15 Limited*****

39. Drag Race Runabout UNLIMITED
40. Drag Race Runabout Open
41. Drag Race Ski Open
42. Drag Race Junior Ski Limited

43. Junior Ski 10-15 Slalom
44. Ski Slalom
45. Runabout Slalom

46. Runabout Top Speed Run Champio

[JC15 :aka Josh:]

Awesome..... 46 classes for how many entries? 600? :lame:

They need to cut down classes in a BIG way.

[bad93blaster]

i think there is way to many classes aswell you could kill alot of classes easy

pro ski open
pro r/a open
pro freestyle
pro stock

womens ski
womens r/a

jr ski limeted
jr stock

pro am sport mod

amateur 1200 open
amateur 1200 limited
amateur 1200 stock

amateur 800 limited
amateur 800 open

amateur freestyle

jr drag race
open drag race

open slalom
jr slalom

top speed - no rules

see cut more than half off

i would like to see rius there racing (he races a yamaha r/a &ski)

[Chopper]

Rius's web page is updated weekly and he has the World Finals on his schedule... Plus after the results he is getting in europe he has no real reason not to come.