After seven rounds spanning across the United States, Kawasaki rider Eric Francis captured the Pro-Am Runabout Stock Championship at the Governor’s Cup in Charleston, W.V. on his Jet Ski® Ultra® 300X. Coming into the final round, Francis was tied for the lead in the points standings creating a winner-takes-all scenario. After a fourth in the first moto, he was able to rebound in Moto 2 and bring it down to the final moto.
Francis finished with a 4-2-2 moto score, giving him second overall on the day,
but that was enough to clinch the Pro-Am Runabout Stock National Championship.
In the Pro-Am Runabout Open class, Francis competed on his stock Kawasaki and finished the championship in third overall.



Down to the Wire

 After a rollercoaster season, Francis closed up
the points gap leading into the final round. Only three motos remained to decide the championship and he was prepared to win. In the first moto Francis was sitting second until he went down trying to make a pass for the lead and ended up finishing fourth. He got off to another great start on his Ultra300X in Moto 2 and finished second. The final moto came down to the wire, with whoever finished higher claiming the championship. Francis was able to make the pass down the front straightaway as the white flag came out and he captured the Pro-Am Runabout Stock title.



“It all came down to that last moto,” said Francis. “We were sitting third off the start and had 10 laps to make a pass on second for the championship. Each lap we were making a bit of time in the splits and started putting the pressure on. On the front straight the rider in second came across the merge to block me, but ended up scrubbing speed in doing so and we were side-by-side coming down the stretch. I knew it was my only chance, so I didn’t let off, he did, and I was able to make the pass and come around to take the win.”



Toughest Boat on the
Water

 Along with winning the Pro-Am Runabout Stock class, Francis has also been competing in the Pro-Am Runabout Open class on his stock Ultra 300X. He consistently finished on the podium all season long and finished third overall in the Open championship, proving the performance of the Kawasaki.



“The Kawasaki Jet Ski Ultra 300X is a great
advantage,” said Francis. “It’s by far the best rough-water boat and only gets
faster as the race goes on. Most riders tend to get slower as they get tired,
but the Ultra 300X is so easy to ride in rough conditions that towards the end
of the moto I tend to get faster. Winning the Stock class and battling upfront
in the Open class on a stock Kawasaki is testament of that.”



Results
 UWP-IJSBA National Tour
 Governor’s Cup – Charleston,
W.V.


August 18-19, 2012


 Pro-Am Runabout Stock
Results


1.     
Ryan
  Hardwick, Atlanta, Ga., Yamaha (3-1-1)


2.     
ERIC
FRANCIS, WEST PALM BEACH, FLA., KAWASAKI (4-2-2)


3.     
Troy
  Snyder, Bradenton, Fla., Sea-Doo
(1-4-3)



Pro-Am Runabout Stock Championship
  Standings


1.    
ERIC FRANCIS, WEST PALM BEACH, FLA., KAWASAKI,
418


2.    
Troy Snyder, Bradenton, Fla., Sea-Doo, 408


3.    
Ryan Hardwick, Atlanta, Ga., Yamaha, 372



Pro-Am Runabout Open Championship
  Standings


1.     
Dustin
  Farthing, Kennesaw, Ga., Yamaha, 473


2.    
Claude Clayton, Tupelo, Miss., Sea-Doo, 380

ERIC
FRANCIS, WEST PALM BEACH, FLA., KAWASAKI, 352

Many of the best endurance watercraft riders
gathered in Lake Havasu, Ariz. last  Saturday for the 2012 IJSBA Mark Hahn
Memorial 300 mile endurance race. Smooth,  calm water and 80 degree temperatures
set the scene and made for great racing  for the eighth annual race honoring
Mark Hahn. In a field of 52 entrants 33 were  Kawasaki, allowing the Kawasaki
Jet Ski Ultra 300X to dominate the race placing  first through ninth. With the
race lasting more than four hours, the two man  Kawasaki team of Jan Bruno
Pasterollo of France and Ente Sylvain of Belgium  claimed the win, Pasterollo's
second consecutive win in Havasu. Monster Energy  Kawasaki's Craig Warner
preferred to race solo running the Iron man. Warner took  the lead on the second
lap and led until the 20th lap when he dropped back to  finish fourth overall
and third in the Pro-Am class.

The Iron
Man
Most racers would be crazy to want to race
for  more than four hours completing 300 miles, but for Warner it was a walk in
the  park. For the first half of the race, Warner led the field and had a
comfortable  lead. While most riders were feeling fatigued and switching amongst
their two  man teams, Warner continued to push on setting the fastest lap time
ever on the  Lake Havasu course.

“I really don’t like sharing my
Kawasaki because  it’s so good,” said Warner. “So I train extra hard to be able
to ride four-plus  hours, the main thing is staying consistent. I wish there
were two-foot waves  out there to jump and have fun on. I like to be sore for
2-3 days after, that’s  when you know you had a good workout!”

 

Unmatched
  Performance



The 300 mile endurance race is a true test of
  both man and machine. With well over half the field lined up on Kawasaki Jet
  Skis, with nine of them finishing in the top 10, it's hard to dispute the
  performance and reliability of the Kawasaki Jet Ski Ultra 300X.

"It's
  awesome to see all Jet Skis out there," said Warner. "No matter what the
  conditions, big, rough waves or on smooth water, the horsepower and top speed
is  unmatched. The boat overall has superior handling, superior speed, and after
  running 300 miles wide-open, superior durability is no question."

Results



IJSBA Mark Hahn Memorial 300
Lake
  Havasu, Ariz.
Saturday, February 25, 2012

Combined Results
1. JAN
  BRUNO PASTEROLLO/ ENTE SYLVAIN, KAWASAKI
2. RUSSEL MARMON, KAWASAKI
3. KC
  HEILDER/ TOM CRUZ, KAWASAKI
4. CRAIG WARNER, KAWASAKI
5. ANDREW LAKOVIEV/
  ALEXEY CHEMUKHA, KAWASAKI
6. MARK CONROY/ GREGG CONROY, KAWASAKI
7. MARK
  GERNER, KAWASAKI
8. G LEGENDER JR/FRANCISCO SAN MARTIN, KAWASAKI
9. MIKE
  MENDEZ/ DEAN BROWN, KAWASAKI
10. Kris Bunch/ Phillip Monday,
Sea-Doo