This past December your local Sulphur Springs jetski racer, Andrew Vo, a Sulphur Springs High School freshman set off on a journey that would take him and his family half-way across the world.
He set out to compete at the prestigious World Grand Prix of jetski races in Pattaya, Thailand, where this event attracts the best of the best racers from more than 40 countries.
Andrew was invited and sponsored by Team Flamingo, a full-time professional race team based out of Pattaya, Thailand, owned by Knauf with roots in Germany.
With the support of Andrew’s teachers and principal, the Vo’s packed their bags, and Andrew’s race gear, helmets, race vest, and power bars. Their journey began, flying from Dallas to Seattle then Taiwan and lastly Thailand. A total of 42 hours were voyaged before arriving to the race site!
Arriving in Bangkok, Thailand, as Andrew’s first to visit Asia, he was overwhelmed but he absorbed as much diverse culture as he possibly could. The first two days were spent site seeing and getting acclimated to the 14 hour time difference.
Then, from Bangkok City the family traveled another three hours by car to the Team Flamingo race facility in Pattaya. This was a true eye opener. Andrew and family had never seen a fulltime race facility that had its own lake, four to five huge workshops, as well as apartments for the racers. Upon arrival The Vos witnessed an organized chaos, from people pulling jetski motors, tuners walking around with their laptops and jetskis being launched and retrieved from the private lake. As far as the eye could see, race teams were getting their skis ready and fine-tuned for the upcoming race event. So many racers and teammates worked hard to be here for the World Grand Prix event.
For the race itself, it was pretty much trial by fire. Andrew was to compete in the Junior 4 stroke lites class in the 14 to 15 years old division. His two assigned skis were Yamaha superjets with 1050 cc, 4-stroke stock motor, with a re-tuned ECU to run on Aviation fuel.
With better handling characteristics than his own skis back in the USA, Andrew was able to take it on the track for a few laps to adapt to the different equipment set-up. Then he waited for the next day to practice on the official racetrack on the open ocean.
Before he realized it, race day came upon him.
Andrew’s junior class was stacked with the fastest kids in the world, including kids from Thailand, Russia, England and Dubai! The race was set up in a four-motos format, spread over two days. Race time was determined to be 15 minutes plus three laps motos. If anyone who has not truly ridden a stand-up race ski, it could be compared to running a full sprint foot race, wearing ankle and vest weights for 18 minutes. The physical exhaustion result is indescribable.
Race day – to prepare for Andrew’s first moto, under the expertise and guidance of industry great Kylie Ellmers, the team slid his assigned race ski into the warm South China Sea. He then rode two runs to warm up the ski, then back to the area where the team walks the ski down to the staging area waiting for his turn to race. This was when Andrew honed his focus on the upcoming race, including only talking to his holder while saving all his energy and mental focus for the race.
The first moto, the starting light turned green, starting Andrew’s first overseas race. In the early morning the ocean conditions were fairly calm, but he still struggled. Prior, he had only experienced racing on Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, or Arizona Lakes. He managed to earn a respectful sixth place this moto. The next three motos over the next two days were in more rough water conditions, he didn’t do as well. There was not any possibility he could have trained for these ocean conditions.
Race Dad and Mom had never witnessed Andrew race so hard, and with all of his heart and soul. Andrew gave it all he’s got, and when there was not any more energy to give, he managed dig down deep and ride across the finish line buoys. The other racers and the track conditions were tough, and best in the world. Even when Andrew came off his ski at the back straights and was quickly rescued by Safety Course Marshal Oosey from Indonesia, Andrew was back on his ski in the race fighting for position and didn’t give up. In another moto Andrew and another Thai rider had their skis come together resulting in the other junior Thai rider being ejected off his ski, hard. As a penalty Andrew was docked one position. The last moto Andrew was hit from behind, came off his ski, ending in last position. All hopes were lost, but with his determination of not wanting to be last, he rode past the next rider and accomplished this goal.
With all the activity of the race, one could forget that Andrew, a young 14 year old, was expected to perform as a jetski racer under a tremendous amount of mental and physical pressure. He understood what it meant to be supported and sponsored by one of the biggest and best jet ski teams in the world, as well as ride with a team for the first time in his life, and all that while riding different race ski than he was accustomed to riding. To add to this pressure, thousands of spectators were watching at the event, which was also televised in over 90 million households internationally. Andrew’s parents and team were and are so proud that he was able to hold it together, ride and fight hard, and step up to the challenge set out for him.
The Vos, as a race family, are extremely grateful for this travel opportunity and experience, and to show Andrew how big the world really is. He came in as a racer from America, and made life-long international friendships from Cambodia, Thailand, Russia, China, Loas, Japan, Germany, Dubai and Australia, New Zealand.
The Vos express deep gratitude and thanks to hose who made the trip possible: Kylie Ellmers, Leslie Cook, Team Flamingo, Knauf and the Thailand team for the over-the-top hospitality and friendship. It was beyond the dreams and expectations of what any racer could hope for. Mostly, it made a lasting positive impression on a 14-year-old racer Andrew Vo. Global racing is such unique experience and the friendships made along the way are priceless.
— Submitted by Kasau Gomes, Jettribe
