The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the P1 AquaX Bahamas World Championship will return to the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island this weekend.

Dubbed the GOAT or the Greatest of All Time by friends, colleagues and fellow competitors, the three-day event is scheduled from Friday to Sunday and will conclude the P1 AquaX personal watercraft race season with a mix of more than 30 professional and amateur riders from North America, the Caribbean and Western Europe.

According to Jason Spencer, the vice president of marketing, special events and entertainment, the championships will begin with a series of qualifying races on Saturday starting at 11am with the gates opening from 10am and will wrap up on Sunday with the finals scheduled to start at noon and the awards presentation at 7:30pm.

“The site is looking very great and there is a lot of excitement on the property and around the island,” Spencer said. “The contestants and the drivers are on property. We expect that this will be a great weekend.”

Veteran rider Chris MacClugage, considered the sport’s most decorated and highest winning world champion, will be one the favourites at this year’s P1 AquaX and Pro Enduro champion Jimmy Wilson from North Carolina..

Jimmy Wilson’s Broward Motorsports team-mate Dustin Farthing from Georgia and 2021 Pro class champion Erminio Iantosca will also be serious contenders at the event, according to AquaX. Thomas Favolini “The Flying Frenchman” , will also return to Nassau after the 2019 World Championship where mechanical problems knocked out his ski, while Jay Finlinson from Northern Indiana will be vying for the Amateur International Cup in the AM 300 Class. The event will be broadcast in the United States on the Bally Sports Regional Networks and CBS Sports Network, with international coverage on leading sports channels in more than 100 million homes in over 50 countries.

This is the second year that the championships will be staged at Paradise.

But after taking a two-year break after the initial championships in 2019, Spencer said they are looking forward to putting on another amazing event for the world to see.

“We plan to put on an unique offering that guests don’t get to see on a normal basis,” Spencer said. “The P1 AquaX Bahamas World Championship is one of those events. So our guests are excited about this event. “In addition to watching these exciting races, our team here does an amazing job just setting up that area out there and having the food trucks and beverage outlets, so it’s going to be fun. We look forward to hosting it again this year.”

All of the racing can be viewed free of charge.

For Spencer, it’s a significant event for Atlantis as it continues to be labelled as the leader in hosting major international competitions in the Bahamas.

“It’s special for Atlantis and just for the Bahamas in general to continually be recognised as an ideal and targeted destination for these types of events where everyone across the world can come and enjoy the Bahamas,” he stated.

“This is a beautiful place. We have a great infrastructure and staff to host these types of events and we are seeing this more and more with these types of events coming to the Bahamas and particularly here at Atlantis.”