7 Days To The 2008 Hydro-turf Apba Watercross Nationals

Steph SBT · 08-22-2008, 01:00 PM

7 DAYS TO THE 2008 HYDRO-TURF APBA WATERCROSS NATIONALS

Only 7 Days Until The 2008 U.S. National Championship

EASTPOINTE, MICH. – With only seven days remaining to the 2008 HYDRO-TURF APBA Watercross Nationals, presented by Sea-Doo, the event shaping up to be the “must-attend’ watercraft racing event of the Summer. The event is a three-day national racing event that features the top watercraft racers from the United States and Canada. The whole atmosphere of the event will be fun and family-oriented and will take place on August 29 – August 31 at Nashville Shores Park, just minutes from downtown Nashville. Watercraft enthusiasts can watch some of the best watercraft racing action to take place all year long. The event is also the final points round for the 2008 HYDRO-TURF APBA Watercross National Tour and the final points round for the APBA National Highpoints Championship that determines rider’s national ranking and numbers. The event will be filmed for a two half-hour specials that will air on the Maximum Adventure Network and is scheduled to air in December 2008. All the top Amateur and Professional classes will be covered.

The event will feature the top Professional, Amateur, and Junior racers from all across the United States and Canada competing for cash, awards, and National Championship titles and numbers. It is the one event of the season in which all the top racers get together from all over the United States and Canada. With close to 300 participants in 2007, winning Nashville is one of the biggest accomplishments a racer will have in their PWC racing career. In addition to the top Amateur riders, all the top riders in the U.S. are expected to be in attendance, including Chris MacClugage, Rob Flores, Eric Lagopoulos, Craig Warner, Erminio Iantasca, Billy Dearman, Dustin Charrier, Keifer King, Jake Zier, Amy Green, Christine Milone, Leanne Falvey, Dennis Mack, Rick Sherker, Bill Haig, Eric Malone, Jason Stoyer and many others will be in attendance trying to earn a shot at a National Championship title. Racers can still register for the event online or by fax until Tuesday August 26th without a penalty or on site at late registration. The event has classes for everyone including Beginner classes and the new Vintage Ski class.

The event will award more than $40,000 in cash, prizes and trophies. The top 10 riders in each of the 33 Watercross Nationals racing classes will receive awards from results during this prestigious event with top 3 taking home some beautiful, huge, custom cups and 4th-10th earning a cool plaque. All season long racers have accumulated points toward the APBA National Highpoints championships. The APBA National Highpoints system determines rider’s annual ranking and 2008 number. The APBA will once again reward the APBA racers for their accomplishments with some great awards this year for the National Highpoints champions. The top 10 will receive awards with the top-three taking home an awesome custom trophy and 4th-10th place earning a plaque that shows their 2008 National ranking. With double points on the line in Nashville, the National Championship and the prestigious #1 plate all come down to the final event of the season.
The event is also the 11th and final points round for the HYDRO-TURF APBA Watercross National Tour. The APBA Hydro-Turf National Tour champions will be crowned in the 10 National Tour classes with the top 3 riders receiving some beautiful trophies. In total more than 200 custom trophies and over 400 cool plaques will be presented to the participants. It is a tremendous number of awards, but the APBA feels it is very important to reward its racers for their accomplishments. In addition to all the APBA Awards, Hot Products has stepped up to sponsor the Junior class and will provide an X-Box, Nintendo Wii and a Sony Playstation portable as prizes for the Junior classes.

Nashville Shores Park is located on the 14,200-acre J. Percy Priest Lake that features 213 miles of scenic natural shoreline to explore. This is the same site that hosted the Nationals since 2001. The lake is absolutely beautiful, and except for several marinas, campgrounds, boat launches, and parks, including Nashville Shores, the rest of this huge lake is wide open. The combination of a first class facility, together with first class racing events, will make this a very exciting and memorable event. Whether you are racing or just coming to watch a great time is guaranteed in Nashville.

2008 WATERCROSS NATIONALS EVENTS

APBA Watercross Racing Events
Similar to motocross on the water, Watercross racing is handle bar-to-handle bar competition that pits rider and machine in a personal watercraft battlefield. Reaching top speeds of over 80mph, closed course racing features a buoy-marked track that is designed to keep the competition tight and fans close to the action. Each race begins with one of the most gut-wrenching experiences in motorsports - the side-by-side gated start. Similar to horse racing, a PWC racing start features 20 riders exploding off the line, each thinking to themselves “I’m going to be the first one to that buoy.” Surviving the first-turn is just the beginning. Speed, technique and racing ability will all come into play over the next 20 minutes, as the riders begin to negotiate a series of left- and right-hand turns - and oh yeah, one must not forget the man-made log jumps. There will be 33 classes of racing during the event from Junior classes to the top Professional classes.
APBA Amateur & Pro Freestyle National Championships
The event will feature both A Pro and Amateur Freestyle competition that highlights the acrobatical abilities of these highly specialized athletes and their watercraft. One of the truly “extreme sports,” freestyle features some of the most gifted athletes on the beach, performing two-minute routines in an Olympic-style format for a panel of seven judges. Amateur Freestyle will be run on Saturday and Pro Freestyle on Sunday.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, August 28
2:00 am to 7:00 pm Check-in and Safety Inspection All Classes
Friday, August 29
6:30 am - 7:30 pm Check-In Novice, Junior, Veteran and Beginner Classes
8:00 am Riders Meeting
8:30 am - 10:00 am Practice Novice, Junior, Veteran, and Beginner Classes
10:00 am - 5:00 pm Racing
11:00 am - 4:00 pm Check-In Expert, Pro-Am, Vintage, Amateur and Masters
Events Running on Friday
Watercross - All Novice, Junior, Veteran and Beginner Motos and Qualifying and LCQ's
Saturday, August 30
6:30 am - 7:30 pm Check-In Amateur, Sport, Vintage and Masters Classes
8:00 am Riders Meeting
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Check-In all other classes and Jamboree events
8:30 am - 10:00 am Practice Amateur, Sport, Vintage and Masters Classes
10:00 am - 5:00 pm Racing
1:30 pm Amateur Freestyle
7:00 pm Awards – All Friday and Saturday Classes
Events Running on Saturday
Watercross - All Amateur, Sport, Vintage and Masters Classes Motos, Qualifying and LCQ's
Amateur Freestyle
Sunday, August 31
8:00 am Riders Meeting
8:30 am - 10:00 am Practice Expert, Women’s Runabout and Pro-Am Classes
8:30 am - 4:00 pm Racing
1:00 pm Pro Freestyle
6:00 pm Expert, Pro-Am, Women’s Runabout and Pro Freestyle Awards
Classes Running on Sunday
Watercross - All Expert, Pro-Am and Women’s Runabout classes
Pro Freestyle
For more information, contact Patrick Mell at (586) 598-2856 or visit www.apbaracing.com or www.pwcfun.com on the Internet.

NATIONAL SPONSORS

The APBA Watercross Nationals is proud to have HYDRO-TURF as the Title Sponsor of this year’s event and Sea-Doo Watercraft as the Presenting sponsor of the event. Special thanks to these important companies that make this event possible, as well as supporting sponsors American Honda, RIVA Racing, Hot Products, Bomber Eyewear, and our gratious host Nashville Shores.

www.pwcfun.com www.apbaracing.com