2019 Thai Airways Jet Ski World Cup

Jettribe Official Gear Sponsor

On Sunday December 1, 2019, my dad and I boarded a flight from New Zealand to Thailand. As it was our first visit to Thailand, it was exciting to be going there to compete in the 2019 Thai Airways Jet Ski World Cup in Pattaya. It was a 12 hour flight from Christchurch to Bangkok and a two hour taxi ride to our hotel, the D'Varee Hotel in Jomtien Beach.  

After a good night’s sleep we explored the hotel complex and the race site. We caught up with Tony from Jettribe and headed to the Freedom Racing/Jettribe booth to see the well presented Freedom ski that Stian Schjetlein, Wylan Reden, and I would be racing over the next 4 days. I entered in 2 classes with 4 motos per class.

The 2 days prior to racing were spent fine tuning the ski. With the help of Kylie Ellmers and Stian Schjetlein we got the Stock SXR 1500 handling to our satisfaction.  Our tight schedule meant we didn’t have much down time, but we did manage to venture out on scooters and tuk-tuks which I just loved.

The first class I entered was Expert Ski Limited to gain a bit of race experience in the rough racing conditions. The ski was a little off the pace so I was happy with a top 10 finish.

My second class was Pro Am Ski Stock which was full of talented riders and was tough racing, which I love but again the ski was a little down on top-end speed so my best result was 4th in 1 moto and again another top 10 finish overall.

Thanks to Tony and Brittany from Jettribe Racing for their invite and ongoing support while we were there, and to Freedom Racing for their well presented SXR 1500 and their all round support over the 4 days of racing.

If you are looking for an awesome cultural experience watching and riding with the worlds best jet ski riders, I highly recommend King’s Cup. Dad and I had an awesome time and have certainly added it to our ski calendar this year.