17-Year-Old Finlinson Becomes National Champion
News Release
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Jay Finlinson, 17, Lake Wawasee, was crowned national champion in the 300 AM Enduro class at the P1 AquaX National Championship.
Earlier in September, more than 50 waverunner riders headed to Florida’s Gulf Coast for the final round of a five-venue P1 AquaX National Championship, where racers battled not only for national titles in three classes, but also to qualify for the Bahamas World Championship in November.
At the end of the two days of racing in St. Petersburg, Fla., Finlinson was crowned national champion in his class.
Encouraged by his father Bryan, Jay started racing when he was only 12 years old. He is currently a senior in high school and enjoys other sports including baseball, football, basketball and golf.
In his first season of P1 AquaX racing last year, Finlinson competed in the 200 AM class in the USA National Championship on a waverunner loaned to him by world champion rider Brian Baldwin from Denver and he raced in Michigan City and St. Pete. He won an IJSBA world title in 2019 in the AM 1100 Stock class when only 14 and finished third in the Pro-Am Ski Stock class at the IJSBA World Finals last year. He has also won many national championships in ProWaterCross.
Finlinson admits that he didn’t know how he would do when he first stepped on his supercharged Yamaha waverunner. Jay Berry from Ignite Racing Fuel in Marion, and Brian Baldwin gave him valuable support. His debut was in Michigan City in early August and he won the first race. He figured he wouldn’t be in the hunt for the championship title because he missed the first two rounds due to high school golf matches, but when he found out that he was only eight points behind the leader he knew he could win the series.
He lives on Lake Wawasee and the family has a little boat launch. “Normally in the summer we try to ride about four times a week but recently I haven’t practiced quite as much, “ he says. “I have a gym membership and normally do a five-day split workout, but sometimes I work on cardio along with training on my standup jet skis. My father plays a big role in my racing life — without him I wouldn’t be doing any racing and traveling around the country. Because of him I have a great life as a teenager.”
Finlinson had never driven a supercharged waverunner until Michigan City and he describes it as ‘fast, really fast.’ His father went to Brian Baldwin’s house so that they could build the GP 1800. He very much values the sponsorship he receives: “My main sponsors are Jay Berry at Ignite Racing Fuel, who are based here in Indiana and produce a high performance ethanol fuel, Chris Storie of Sur-Trac Trailers who was one of my baseball coaches and, of course, Brian Baldwin. Derek Powell, who used to race with my Dad, is constantly tuning, repairing and practicing with us.” He attributes his success this season to the hard work he puts into the sport practicing on the standup skis, keeping in shape at the gym and playing other sports.
He has traveled a lot over the last few years with racing: “Obviously the big one is driving to Lake Havasu in Arizona. Most of the time I ride with my Dad in the truck and trailer, but sometimes I fly so that I don’t miss as much school. It’s awesome visiting so many states and the AquaX World Championship in the Bahamas is going to be really cool. I never thought I would ever get to race there.” Looking ahead to next year, Finlinson says he will most likely move up to the Pro 300 class if he can secure more sponsorship support.
The 2022 P1 AquaX Bahamas World Championship returns to Nassau from Nov. 4-6. The iconic Atlantis Paradise Island resort will serve as the host destination for the three-day event, which will feature a total of 40 endurance riders, both professional and amateur, from more than a dozen countries.