Formula One (F1) powerboat racing takes the look and speed of a race car to the water, and one Canadian hopes to carve out a spot for himself in a sport primarily dominated by Americans.
Rusty Wyatt, 28, from Innisfil, Ont., is going for gold as one of the only Canadians on the F1 powerboat circuit right now.
Winning his first race at the end of 2022, Wyatt clinched his second first-place win while competing in Lake Ozark, Missouri, on June 3.
“We hang our flag from our big tent beside the rig, and we love it. We definitely feel that we’re not on the outskirts, but it’s just kind of nice to be (one of) the only Canadians, and everybody else is American,” he told Global News.
“I feel like we’re supporting our country that much more.”
While powerboat racing may not be as well known in Canada, boating is something Wyatt says he is all too familiar with, having gotten into boat racing and learning about it in his youth.
“As a young kid, you don’t really have a lot of fear, and then you get the experience of getting behind the wheel on one of these, and I don’t think the fear ever catches up to you,” he told Global News.
Wyatt started racing smaller performance boats with his brothers at a young age, trying out more competitions, and working his way up to the boat he drives today, which can reach speeds of more than 190 kilometres an hour.
He says while powerboat racing is not as big in Canada because of its seasonality, he worked his way up to Formula One racing in the American racing circuit in 2018 before the pandemic shut it down.
Since the sport restarted, Wyatt has been working on turning his part-time passion into a full-time career, with two wins now under his belt.
“We’ve been in this for a long time, and the competition is so hard in the U.S. that riding in the top three is something special. We’ve been able to step on the podium quite a bit, but winning just seems to be that much harder. That step is a totally different category.”
While U.S. Powerboat racing began in 1903, the Formula One Powerboat Championship was established in 2017.
The Formula One Powerboat Championship, which Wyatt races in, is a six race series which happens across North America from May through September.
Having won one of two races this season, he is hopeful more wins are in the future. His next race is set to take place in Colorado in August.