King Racing

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World Championship Year                                  Host Country

              1994                                                              Mexico

              1998                                                              Mexico

              1999                                                              Canada

              2000                                                              USA

              2001                                                              New Zealand

              2002                                                              Mexico

              2008                                                              USA

King Racing and The Sunset Shaker #388 Quality Care Race Boat…

In 1979 Russell King read an article in the “Albert Report” magazine that sparked an interest in Jet Boat racing. This spark soon grew into a love of racing that he also shares with his son Spencer. The two of them still compete in the World Jet Boat River Marathon Races… this Father and Son team have six world championships under their belt to date.

The river to success was not without its challenges; Russell’s first attempt at the worlds was in 1980. He built his first race boat complete with engine in 1980 and entered into the World Marathon race in Whitecourt, Alberta. He only made it 40 miles when the engine failed… despite this disappointment he came home, found the problem and continued to try and try again until finally completing his first race in 1987.

In 1990 Spencer moved into the drivers’ seat and Russell took on the crewing and navigation duties. They worked hard and trained together to become six time World Champions. Their first victory was in 1994 in Mexico. This victory was then followed by wins in:

1998 – Mexico

1999 – Canada

2000 – USA

2001 – New Zealand

2002 – Mexico

2008 - USA

Their sweetest victory to date has been the one accomplished in New Zealand, as they were/are the first non-New Zealander’s to ever have won the worlds on these rivers.

They run an Eagle 21 foot tunnel hull with a centre fuel tank, a copy of a Berkly jet pump. The motor, originally designed and built by Jon Kaase Racing of Georgia, is a 600 inch all aluminum Ford engine capable of 1000 horse power, allowing them to achieve speeds up to 125 MPH.

Russell and Spencer have just returned from the 2008 USA World Race, bringing home the team's 7th World Championship Title. This year's race was the World Jet Boat Marathon in the USA. The race was a grueling multi-leg course with both river and open water sections. The competition this year was very tough and included the always competitive Tim Harding in his new Helicopter Jet Turbine powered boat. The new boat made Harding a favourite to win this year. However, the King Racing team put all their skill, experience and effort into the race and pulled out an amazing 7th World Championship title. Congratulations Russell and Spencer on a great 2008 World Jet Boat Championship year.