Racers were told early on in 2009 that DMP Motorsports would be hosting a race series that was designed to bring APBA racing back to Region’s 1 and 2. Needless to say, all racers were thrilled at the idea of racing being brought back to us.

February 21st finally came and on that overcast Saturday morning, excitement filled the air and racers came together from Nevada, Arizona and all over California to rub elbows and dice it up for DMP Motorsports first race of the series. There were close to 60 entries that day and some well known names such as Minoru Kanamori, Sean Workman, and Jeff Troegner coming to the line on their Kawasaki SXRs’s. Craig Warner was also in attendance as well as Chris Heinrich.

All and all it was a great Round One with exciting racing at an exceptional race venue. Image Pro Design is in talk now with DMP Motorsports to sponsor this series, because without people like David Pulley, that are willing to take on this thankless job, we won’t have races on the West Coast…so we encourage all racers with means of making this series, to please come out support your local promoters, so that we can see a resurgence of jet ski races in the future of our great sport.

The hull of our Wave Blaster will remain stock with the exception of a fresh paint job from Pro Collision, Jettrim Mats, and a brand new custom Jettrim Seat Cover to go over the shaved stock seat. When we looked for a handling package to develop with the B1, we worked closely with renowned jet ski fabricator Chris Hagest of ProWatercraft.com. The idea behind the handling package of our APBA Sport Spec Class Blaster was to not only be able to steer the ski around the course, but to have total control of the ski while unleashing the power that a Sport Spec ski will have under the hood. Chris and Casey spent countless hours at the waters edge perfecting the package to Casey’s high standards. Surprisingly enough, Chris Hagest did not have to sacrifice much speed to capitalize on the excellent handling of the B1 hull. Common problems that the old B1 hull design carried were looked at closely by Hagest, and were ironed out in his newest designed sponsons for the Yamaha Wave Blaster

For a motor package, Image Pro Design did not hold anything back when building this setup. Our mindset was clear and straight forward: Build a motor to run in the front of the pack, and get there fast. Image Pro decided on a “Limited” type setup with all the right modifications in the right places. For exhaust we stuck with the proven Factory Pipe B Pipe setup along with a Factory Pipe Water Box. Paired with a R&D head, Full Spectrum Carbs, and Boyesen Reed Valves this Blaster was going to be leaving the gate hard.

We look forward to an exciting season in Region 1 & 2 for the APBA Sport Spec class with Casey Mauldin piloting our newest build to a championship for Region 1.

The Pro Ski race this year was hands down one of the best races of 2008 with big wind breaks and swells rolling onto the beaches of the Crazy Horse Campgrounds that made spectators feel as if they were watching an ocean surf race rather than a race set on Lake Havasu. Image Pro Design had Europe’s Brice Lopez riding a Walt’s Motorsports/Prowatercraft Hydrospace S4. With the top professionals from around the world steadying the boats on the line, the band was snapped and racers shot out into the surf. Brice rode with a powerful dominance over most riders. For most of the race, spectators looked on as Steven Dauliach and Brice Lopez battled back and forth for positioning. Another incredible site was watching as Jean Baptiste-Botti dissected the field after getting a bad start. He rode as if possessed and finished in a solid 4th. Brice had troubles in Moto Two and was stuck behind lapped traffic, ending the Pro Ski race in a 6th overall with Dauliach in 2nd behind the IJSBA World Finals World Champion Alberto Monti.

Image Pro Designs Keifer King raced in the prestigious Pro-Am Ski Stock class at the IJSBA World Finals against greats such as Minoru Kanamori and Chris “The Flyin Fish” Fischetti. It was a tough battle and a great race to witness. In the end Kiefer showed that even at his young age he will be a force to reckon with for years to come with a solid 3rd place finish against competitors from the around the world.

Our APBA Novice Stock National Champion Kurt Samuels represented the USA in a resilient fashion bringing the US a place on the podium at the IJSBA World Finals. In Moto One of Novice Stock Kurt took the holeshot on the outside split and came in across the front straightaway in 2nd. On the third lap Kurt passed Thailand’s Arthit Wongpinta for the lead but then took the slower of the two splits and was stuck behind lapped traffic coming into the front chicane and was passed again by Wongpinta. Kurt finished out moto one with a second place finish. Anya Colley finished right behind in third place. For Moto Two Kurt rode a solid race. Taking a third out of the gate he never let anyone pass, finishing in third. Kurt represented the USA well, with a strong 3rd overall finish at this years IJSBA World Finals.

Shawn Dougherty was also on hand racing his Image Pro Design SXR in Novice Limited. Shawn had a great showing this year with 4th overall finish in Novice Ski Limited at this years IJSBA World Finals.

Kristina Dougherty also made the trek out to Arizona for her Junior Ski 13-15 Stock race. Kristina had a tough race with all the other up and coming talent on hand. She rode smart and tough with a great 7th overall position among the world’s top competitors.

Image Pro Design would like to commend all of our riders on their hard charging efforts and strong finishes across the board at the IJSBA World Finals. We at IPD Jet Ski Graphics can not wait for the 2009 season to start…

In the highly competitive Pro-Am Ski Stock, Keifer King took a dominating stance over the field with a clean holeshot to take the early lead. With Ben Swanson right on Keifer’s heels for most of the race there was no room for error. Ben Swanson charged hard every lap, but in the end he could not keep up with Keifer’s flawless ride. Kiefer King took home the National Title with Ben Swanson taking home the number two spot for the year. Ben Swanson also was commended for being the National High Points Leader this year with 666 points, just edging out Keifer’s 649 points. Congratulations goes out to both riders for their hard charging efforts in the very competitive Pro-Am Ski Stock class throughout the year and locking down the top two places on the podium for Image Pro Design.

Kurt Samuels raced in the biggest class at the final round, Novice Stock. Aboard his MaccRacing/Tech One/ImageProDesign Superjet, he took a commanding lead out of the gate with a big holeshot. It was tough for anyone to stay at Kurt’s pace out in front of the field. With a solid wire to wire finish, Kurt took home a National Title in Novice Stock for the 2008 Season. Congratulations to Kurt for his hard efforts paying off this year.

In the Pro-Am Ski GP class many big names from around the country lined up for one of the most highly anticipated races of the day. All in attendance were down at the waters edge to see names like Chris MacClugage , Rob Flores, Bill Haig, Rick Sherker, Jimmy Wilson, and Kevin Minnix lining up to do battle that afternoon. With the snap of the band they were off at daunting speeds in excess of 65mph. The Macc Attack took a powerful holeshot ahead of the field leaving no chance for second place to even squeeze a nose into the first buoy. With a rampant pace, Chris walked away with an easy Moto 1 finish as he crossed the finish line 3 full buoy lengths ahead of second place.

In Moto two, MacClugage left not a sliver of doubt on anyone’s mind who was going to dominate this race. Macc lapped half the field by the time the white flag was brought out. In classic reigning style, Chris MacClugage sealed his 11th National Title. Image Pro Design would like to congratulate MacClugage on his wins on this years APBA National Tour and bringing home the title for Macc Racing and his many other sponsors for the year.

With the ending of the 2008 APBA Hydroturf National Tour, Image Pro Design is proud of all the IPD Race Team members on their accomplishments and we look forward to working with many of the riders again in the years to come. Good luck to all competing at the IJSBA World Finals in October.