Round 2 of the Triple Crown routed competitors from Long Beach to Catalina and back. Warner came close to beating the current course record with his time of 54 minutes and 55 seconds. Most of the field chose the Kawasaki Jet Ski® Ultra® 300X, including the rest of the podium, as Mark Gerner and Tyler White rounded out the Kawasaki podium sweep in second and third, respectively. 

After setting a course record at Round 1 of the Triple Crown, Warner was confident that he could power his Kawasaki Jet Ski Ultra 300X to victory at Long Beach. Warner took the early lead on his way out to Catalina and never looked back. He set a blistering pace that no one could match and crossed the finish line more than two minutes ahead of second place. 

“You have to keep it pinned in these endurance races,” said Warner. “I think we were like second or third coming off the start and as soon as we went through Queen’s Gate we pulled away. The ride out to Catalina was fairly choppy since we got a late start. Usually we begin these races around 8:00 am, but because we started around 11:00 am there was a lot more wind and chop. We just went as fast as we could and never even saw another competitor until the way back. There are several things that have to come together to win these endurance races, but the most important are having accurate GPS tracking and a reliable Jet Ski. Our GPS works really well, we are always right on track so we don’t lose any time trying to find the course.”

Warner’s win at Round 2 earns him the title of 2012 IJSBA National Offshore Endurance Champion and puts him on pace to earn the Triple Crown of Offshore Racing Championship. The final round is scheduled to take place in Dana Point, Calif., on September 9, 2012.

“I usually ride Oceanside and am in the waves all the time so I feel pretty confident going into the last round,” said Warner. “The course is 55 miles round trip from Dana Point to Oceanside. Since I won the first two rounds I just need to finish on the podium at the final round to earn the Triple Crown title.”

Results
IJSBA National Offshore Endurance ChampionshipTriple Crown of Offshore Racing – Round 2Long Beach, Calif.July 22, 2012
Pro/Am Results

1. CRAIG WARNER, MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI

2. MARK GERNER, KAWASAKI

3. TYLER WHITE, KAWASAKI

4. KC HEIDLER, KAWASAKI

5. Paul Pham