The 56.5-Mile Long beach to Catalina and back PWC Race has been challenging man and machine for 26 years . The most prestigious offshore race in the United States, the channel is known to be potentially brutal and is always unpredictable. Sea state can be calm and flat as it was during the 2015 race or it can present fog, ten footers and white caps. Racers accept the challenge to take on mother nature far offshore on eleven to twelve foot, 1000 pound JetSki / PWC's. The start line is from the beautiful Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA USA with a route across the 28 mile channel to a turn boat at Avalon and a return back through the Queen's gate into the Long Beach Harbor and cross the finish line at the aft end of the historic Queen Mary. The race has also become the offshore proving ground for rough water friendly watercraft. Many riders and racers from across the globe watch this race to assist in their decision making process of which craft best suits their needs.
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| Craig Warner |
Monster Energy Kawasaki has dominated this race for many years with factory pilot Craig Warner at the helm with six championships. Former Triple Crown of Offshore Champion / PWCOFFSHORE.COM's Mark Gerner has also been a fixture on the podium for the last six to eight years, also piloting a Kawasaki. But in recent years Yamaha has elevated their game with a larger more powerful 1800cc boat that has challenged the Kawasaki ULTRA platform called the Yamaha SVHO. The SVHO has slowly made gains in catching the Kawasaki. The racer at the helm of that effort for offshore has been Mike Klippenstein of Canada who has tried unsuccessfully to de-throne Kawasaki at the LB2CAT for a number of years. In 2016, that was a different story as there were two formidable Yamahas and capable Yamaha pilots on the race course that could make it happen. Those two racers are Canadian Mike Klippenstein and Australian champion Christian D'Agostin.
The stage was set and the buzz before the race was centered around the four favorites, the favorite
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| Mark Gerner |
Craig Warner, Mike Klippenstein, Mark Gerner and Christian D'Agostin. A battle between the two Pro Kawasaki riders Warner and Gerner against the two PRO Yamaha racers Klipper and D'Agostin. Warner and Gerner definitely had the home court advantage, especially Gerner who has made the LB2CAT and back run a part of his weekly training routine for many years. Keep in mind that both Gerner and Warner had destroyed the time record in 2015 by three minutes with Warner at 51:21 and Gerner at 51:52. Warner is the incumbent time record holder.
Warner's boat was backed by Minoru Kanamori of factory Kawasaki, Klippenstein's technician was Bill Chapin of R&D, Gerner's turbo powered Kawasaki was backed by Josh Paddock and D'Agostin was backed by one of the best technical PWC minds of Australia. The stage was set and all four of these professionals were focused and ready for battle.
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| Craig Warner |
Sea state would be moderately calm and the stage was set for a fast race. "Yamaha water" was a common statement heard just prior to the start due to the relatively calm sea state. Ross Wallach of RPM Racing Enterprises raised the green flag at exactly 9:30 am and it was game on. Very quickly the top four racers checked out of the pack as they all clamped the throttle and launched into the channel at speeds approaching 80 mph. The helicopter crew tracking the race would later describe what they saw as "four heavy weights slugging it out across the channel," the distance between the top four racers and the rest of the field was enormous, so much so that it almost felt like two races and made it difficult for the Helicopter to get shots of the second pack.
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| Mark Gerner |
Warner would get the hole shot but D'Agostin would quickly rival Warner; Warner Gerner, D'Agostin and Klippenstein became a pack very much like you see with elite marathon run racers who stay in a spread out pack throughout the race.
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| Warner WOT as top four battle to turn boat in channel |
These four pushed their craft to their limits as D'Agostin and Warner traded the lead back and forth like two prize fighters, Gerner right on their tale and Klippenstein even with the pack but decidedly vectoring North somewhat. The sea state would pick up as the racers approached the island. As the sea state picked up, Warner started to slowly build a small lead. But as quickly as Warner's Turbo Kawasaki roared to life it came to a halt four miles from the turn boat as a mechanical took him out. Only one mile later heartbreak for Gerner as Gerner's screaming fast Turbo Ultra Kawasaki shut down with a mechanical three miles from the turn boat (the result of a small, plastic clip failing after a heavy impact). With Warner and Gerner out of the race, it become a two horse race between Yamahas. Could it be that Yamaha would get their first LB2CAT Offshore title in so many years?
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| Christian D'Agostin |
D'Agostin would be first to the turn boat giving a confident thumb's up to the turn-boat operator followed by Klipper who was second to the turn. D'Agostin would build a healthy lead as he navigated his way back to Queen's Gate, he recalls looking back and "only seeing a spec of in the distance" as his competition. The helicopter would report that the pace would slow down a bit on the return leg vs. the barn burning wide open throttle slug fest on the way out to the turn-boat by the top four racers. D'Agostin remained disciplined and navigated well and hit dead center on Queens Gate (entrance back into Long Beach Harbor). With the Championship in his grasp and only a mile away from the finish when suddenly his boat gurgled as it started running out of fuel. The Australian Champion stayed on the throttle but it became worse as his craft sputtered and groaned. He looked back only to see Klippenstein gaining, and that he did. With only 300 yards to the finish line the Klipper passed D'Agostin's fuel starved craft and took the championship. Yamaha de-thrones Kawasaki, Klippenstein wins. Game over. D'Agostin would sputter across the line in second place, many were surprised he even finished given how little fuel he had remaining. Later Paul Pham would come in third on his Yamaha SVHO. Yamaha sweeps the podium.
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| D'Agostin sputtering with fuel issues |
Those who know endurance racing and this offshore race specifically know that you have to finish to win it and sometimes those scenarios play out in mind numbing, frustrating fashion. A great day for Mike Klippenstein as he takes his first LB2CAT Championship, not a good day for D'Agostin. And such are the many stories that follow over many years of this race. On any given day, things happen and anyone can win.
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| Mike Klippenstein |
With his latest victory, Mike Klippenstein is on a roll winning the prestigious LB2CAT. Yesterday's win puts the veteran world champion PWC racer in the points lead in the Hot Products Triple Crown championship. Finishing with a time of 55 Minutes, 20 Seconds.
Veteran racer Paul Pham won the Vet/Master class on his Yamaha SVHO, Paul Pham is a very skilled veteran racer of the LB2CAT and consistently puts in an impressive performance. Santiago Kuan of Los Angeles, CA USA won the 4-Stroke stock class on his Yamaha SVHO, Bill Scott wins the Manufacture Stock class on the Kawasaki ULTRA 310R.
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| Mike Klippenstein |
At the awards ceremony Mark Dobson was inducted to the PWCOFFSHORE Racing Hall of Fame. An elite offshore racer, Mark Dobson was a fixture on the offshore podium for many years and joins the ranks of Billy Womack, Steve Friebe, Mike Follmer, John Belton and Doug Brown in the PWCOFFSHORE Hall of Fame. Congratulations Mark Dobson!
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| Mark Dobson |
Thank you Jeff Lane of PJPrinters of Anaheim, CA., PWCOFFSHORE.COM and WatercraftRider magazine for their support of the helicopter to capture film and pictures of this epic race.
The West Coast Watercraft Club was there to assist with towing and to help with safety chase boats. The promoters, staff and offshore community was appreciative.
Thank you Steve Rasmussen and Steve Friebe
Scroll down for overall results and pictures.
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| Christian D'Agostin |
Overall Results:
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Time Class
1st - Mike Klippenstein, Ft. MacMurray, Al, Canada, #212 Yam 55 Mins 20 Sec
2nd- Christian D’Agostin, Queensland, Australia, #6A Yam 55 Mins 40 Sec
3rd- Paul Pham, Los Angeles, CA #99 Yamaha 57 Mins 27 Sec
4th- Bill Scott, Lake Havasu City, AZ #102 Yam 57 Mins 28 Sec
5th- Daniel Cox, El Cajon, CA #525 Kaw 1 Hour 3 Mins 01 Sec
6th- Santiago Kuan, Whittier, CA #30 Yam 1 Hour 5 Mins 45 Sec
7th- Ryan Ellefson, Menifee, CA #29 Yam 1 Hour 5 Mins 49 Sec
8th- Charlie Martinez, Buena Park, CA #9 Kaw 1 Hour 6 Mins 19 Sec
9th- Jonathan Mangan, Phoenix, AZ #33 Yam 1 Hour 6 Mins 29 Sec
10th- Brittany Marker, Oceanside, CA #22 Yam 1 Hour 8 Mins 14 Sec
11th- Charles Anderson, Lake Havasu City, AZ #55 Yam 1 Hour 9 Mins 38 Sec
12th- Johnny Custom, Harbor City, CA #63 Yam 1 Hour 10 Mins 32 Sec
13th- Anthony Radetic, Abbeville, AL #8 Kaw 1 Hour 15 Min 06 Sec
14th- Akira Tanaka, Torrance, CA #470 Kaw 1 Hour 19 Mins 41 Sec
15th- Frank Gavit, San Marcos, CA #75 Sea 1 Hour 26 Min 48 Sec
DNF Craig Warner Ackworth GA #7 Kaw
DNF Mark Gerner, CA #58 Kaw
DNF Jason Gigliotti, Scottsdale, AZ #412 Kaw
DNF- Dave “Pirate” Tew, Lomita, CA #331 Kaw
DNF Jeff Lane Anaheim, CA #83 Kaw
DNS Tom Cruz, Oceanside, CA #5 Kaw
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| Klipper |
Results by Class:
Pro/Am Open
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st - Mike Klippenstein, Ft. MacMurray, Al, Canada, #212 Yam 55 Mins 20 Sec
2nd- Christian D’Agostin, Queensland, Australia, #6A Yam 55 Mins 40 Sec
3rd- Jonathan Mangan, Phoenix, AZ #33 Yam 1 Hour 6 Mins 29 Sec
DNF Mark Gerner, Aliso Viejo, CA #58 Kaw
DNF Craig Warner Ackworth GA #7 Kaw
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| Paul Pham |
Vet/Master Open
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st- Paul Pham, Los Angeles, CA #99 Yamaha 57 Mins 27 Sec
2nd- Charles Anderson, Lake Havasu City, AZ #55 Yam 1 Hour 9 Mins 38 Sec
3rd- Johnny Custom, Harbor City, CA #63 Yam 1 Hour 10 Mins 32 Sec
4th- Akira Tanaka, Torrance, CA #470 Kaw 1 Hour 19 Mins 41 Sec
DNF Jason Gigliotti, Scottsdale, AZ #412 Kaw
DNS Tom Cruz, Oceanside, CA #5 Vet/Master
4 Stroke Stock
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st - Santiago Kuan, Whittier, CA #30 Yam 1 Hour 5 Mins 45 Sec
2nd- Ryan Ellefson, Menifee, CA #29 Yam 1 Hour 5 Mins 49 Sec
3rd- Charlie Martinez, Buena Park, CA #9 Kaw 1 Hour 6 Mins 19 Sec
4th- Brittany Marker, Oceanside, CA #22 Yam 1 Hour 8 Mins 14 Sec
DNF- Dave “Pirate” Tew, Lomita, CA #331
Mfg. Stock
Pos. Name Number Mfg. Class Time
1st- Bill Scott, Lake Havasu City, AZ #102 Yam 57 Mins 28 Sec
2nd- Daniel Cox, El Cajon, CA #525 Kaw 1 Hour 3 Mins 01 Sec
3rd- Anthony Radetic, Abbeville, AL #8 Kaw 1 Hour 15 Sec 06 Sec
4thth- Frank Gavit, San Marcos, CA #75 Sea 1 Hour 26 Min 48 Sec
DNF Jeff Lane Anaheim, CA #83 Kaw
Support those who support offshore: Round #2 of The Hot Products Long Beach To Catalina & Back IJSBA National Offshore Championships presented by Jettrim, Hydro-Turf, Sea-Doo, Sea-Tow, Jet Re-Nu, Oakley, Kawasaki, Skat-Trak, Amsoil,
PWCoffshore.com, Watercraft Rider Magazine, West Coast Watercraft Club.
For more information go to www.pwcoffshore.com or
www.rpmracingent.com
keep scrolling for pictures
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| Mark Gerner |
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| Klipper |
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| Mike Klippenstein |
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| Mark Gerner |
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| Steve Friebe Hall of Fame Induction for Mark Dobson |
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| Craig Warner |
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| Mike Klippenstein |
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| Mark Gerner |
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| Ross Wallach of RPM Racing about to give our National Champion Trophy |
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| Brittany - the only lady racer on the course |
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Billy Womack, Hall of Famer
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