Rookie Jason Perez Rides Yamaha to Expert Runabout 1200SS Win Saturday at IJSBA Florida Surf Challenge in Ft. Walton

FORT WALTON BEACH--Celebrating a day of firsts, 18-year old Jason Perez overcame choppy surf conditions in the Gulf of Mexico on his Yamaha GP1200 Runabout, pulling away from the 18-personal watercraft field to capture the Expert Runabout 1200 Super Stock class. This highlighted  Saturday's opening day in the IJSBA Florida Surf Challenge, being held in front of the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island on May 6.
 
A huge field of 320 entries from 27 States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain, South Africa and the US Territory of Guam competed in 32 classes for Pro, Expert, Novice and Amateur riders. "I'm so excited I can't even talk," said Perez, a senior at Royal High School in Simi Valley, Calif. "My Yamaha was prepped so well, it would have been rider error if I lost. I didn't push it at the start, was fifth after the first turn, third after the first lap and then just started picking off everybody else. I got the lead near the end of the sixth lap and then burned all the adrenalin I had left and nearly fainted when I got off my boat."

Kawasaki rider Chris Lawrence grabbed the holeshot, but his boat broke after leading the first lap. Chris Poole led the second lap on a Yamaha, but faded as Eric Lagopoulos took the lead for the next three laps on another Yamaha before being passed by winner Perez. Remarkably enough, Jason Perez was making his first start in a national tour race… it was his first surf race, and it was also the first race for the Yamaha factory-sponsored Savage Motorsports.

In Pro Ski racing, former US National Champion, as well as World Champion early in his career, veteran rider Victor ‘Slasher’ Sheldon sped in right behind France’s Nicolas Rius, who was living up to his nickname as 'The Fighter'.  Sheldon, another Savage Motorsports team member, took second position in the Pro Ski class on a Yamaha personal watercraft as the IJSBA Florida Surf Challenge concluded on the Gulf of Mexico in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  “He’s an amazing guy,” said owner Perez, and you can expect to see a lot more of career-racer Victor Sheldon during the rest of the IJSBA racing season.  A massive, sun-drenched crowd estimated at nearly 12,000 fans enthusiastically enjoyed the action as Yamaha led to a clean sweep of the top three finishing positions in the top two IJSBA racing divisions. 

BACK