"...tuned their skis down..."

Not a chance.

Not only did they not tune the skis down but they pulled the same BS at tech where no one could see the boats being weighed.

"I don't think these races really effect sales all that much"...Spud

That is one of the reasons it really is meaningless for Yamaha or SeaDoo to invest millions in racing, what's the point. Racing is a marketing tool, if what you say is true, what's the point of going racing?

Racing as a marketing tool is RIP, period.
On the post above I know I'm dreaming awake about mod class like in the good ole times and I'm perfectly aware that it's not going to happen.
11

From a marketing standpoint IJSBA pro tour is a complete joke. I would bet that there are tons of pwc riders who don't even know who Macclugage is. Nobody outside of pwc would have a clue of who Mac or Rius is. Did anybody see photos of the race sites for this years pro tour? Nobody there at all! Just the racers. Kind of funny to see the big Kawi and farthing semis at a deserted beach. Now why would Seadoo want to get involved with that. Can anybody blame Yamaha and Seadoo for abandoning factory racing? Maybe Honda will pump some life into pro racing??? It will never be as popular as motocross but it could be a lot better than it is now!!! Holler if ya hear me..lol

[ 10-14-2002: Message edited by: DannyC ]

I didn't know that much about racing until the last 6 months or so when I got involved in PWC more. I agree, not a lot of people involved with PWC know who Mac or Rius is, and no one in the outside world has a clue.

I have two ideas: (not great but just my 2 cents)
1) Have more of the pro tour races on flat water. I think it evens out the competition, with the GPR's doing better in flat water than they do in the surf. It keeps them even with the Kawis. Kawasaki obviously has something to do with this though since they sponsor the tour in the first place. Also, after watching a regional race and the pro tour this year, I think CC is much better on flat water than in the ocean.
2) Get Doo, Polaris, and Yamaha back into sponsoring race teams. I agree that they have steered their efforts to marketing/sales more than racing, which I don't blame them for. Sea Doo isn't my favorite brand but they do a heck of a job marketing their product. I think Yamaha and Polaris are right behind them and Kawi is in the back. But to keep the tour competitive at all they're going to have to do something. Like Danny said, maybe Honda will do something as far as racing goes.

Who knows what will happen. We know the manufacturers will make it their goal to sell their skis first and race later, but I as a new racing fan don't want to see the racing be a thing of the past.