Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez went head-to-head in an Aussie surf lifesaver challenge, but it was Oracle Red Bull Racing who ultimately won, despite the drama of the final race results.
The lifeguard Grand Prix race took place on the sand in Melbourne with swapping the Albert Park track for the Hampton beach instead hosted by locals Olympic snowboarder Scotty James and world number 1 surfer Molly Picklum.
Smiles and laughs kicked off the competition, but the competitive nature of the drivers was clear from challenge 1 with different strategies and techniques being tested. Racing the Can-Am Commander down the beach, teams had to reverse and then attach the Sea-Doo RXT-X with their team of Lifesaving pit crew to support.
Challenge: the Beach Sprint – Max and Checo race to victory
Coming to the first challenge with confidence, Daniel Ricciardo said “The first thought that I had when I saw this was familiarity. I do happen to have all of this stuff back at my farm and I do have a couple of Sea-Doo’s as well. So, I thought I’d have an edge on the competition.”
Whilst Yuki and Daniel put in a valiant effort, it was Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who delivered the victory. This set them at an advantage in pole position for the Final Race.
“I have been doing quite a bit of driving in the desert and it’s always a lot of fun,” said Max Verstappen after the race with his teammate Perez highlighting the skill needed to drive in the conditions. “It’s very slippery, it’s like driving on ice pretty much.”
Despite all of the racing, the highlight of the Beach sprint was Yuki entertaining himself by jumping on the back of the jet ski whilst Daniel was running to complete the challenge and put the yellow and red safety flags in place.
The Final Race: drama & stewards’ decision
In the head-to-head race, the teams made their way through the slalom course, navigating through the flags. Once there, the challenge was to collect all rescue items before racing back to the finish line.
Zig-zagging through the course both teams were neck to neck before reaching the section to fill the beach buggies with rescue items. Daniel was first to jump out, filling the Visa Cash App RB Can-Am whilst Yuki jumped back in to wait. Over at Oracle Red Bull Racing, Max and Sergio were working in unison, filling the buggy together quickly.
Yuki Tsunoda unveiled that the team had home advantage for the challenge with Daniel’s experience on the buggy. “It was very slippery but at the same time, Daniel knew a little trick on how to drive it fast [in these conditions]. We were able to maximise our performance and it was pretty cool.”
Daniel and Yuki were first to race back to the finish line and cross first, but a time violation was eventually handed out from the stewards and Visa Cash App RB was disqualified due to not collecting all of their beach rescue items. Oracle Red Bull Racing secured the ultimate victory.
The surf lifesavers of Australia patrol beaches and provide essential emergency and safety services to the beachgoing public, taking on the challenging Australian conditions, rescuing people from the ocean with Sea-Doos and patrolling the beach in their Can-Am Off-Road vehicles carrying essential lifesaving equipment.
The fifth (Un)serious Race Series unfolded in typical lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek style. Through the year, the friendly – but ultimately somewhat competitive – series kept the drivers on their toes and challenged them in unfamiliar vehicles and terrain: from the waterways of Miami in mini jet boats, to the Erzberg iron mine of Austria in 500 horsepower mega trucks, from Kei trucks in a Japanese-style gameshow to Renegade Hovercrafts in the Nevada desert.
The Final Race
In the final head-to-head showdown, the Teams had to make their way through a slalom course, navigating through the flags. Once there, the challenge was to collect all the rescue items before racing back to the finish line first.
Zigzagging through the course, the Teams were neck and neck before the pit stop to fill the buggies with the rescue items. Daniel was the first to jump out, filling the Visa Cash App RB buggy while Yuki jumped back in to wait. On the Oracle Red Bull Racing side, Max and Checo were working in unison, filling the buggy together quickly.
Yuki revealed that they had home advantage for the challenge with Daniel’s experience on the buggy. “It was very slippery but at the same time, Daniel knew a little trick on how to drive it fast [in these conditions]. We were able to maximise our performance which was pretty cool.”
Daniel and Yuki were first to race back to the finish line and cross it, but a time violation was eventually handed out by the stewards and Visa Cash App RB were disqualified due to not collecting all their beach rescue items. Oracle Red Bull Racing secured the ultimate victory.
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The drivers got a taste of what it is like to be a surf lifesaver in Australia, who patrol beaches in similar style buggies and provide essential emergency and safety services to the beachgoing public, taking on the challenging Australian conditions and rescuing people from the ocean with see-doos.
The fifth (Un)series Race Series, and first of 2024, unfolded in typical light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek style. Through the year, the friendly – but ultimately somewhat competitive – series will keep the drivers on their toes and challenge them in unfamiliar vehicles and terrain, from the waterways of Miami in mini jet boats to hovercrafts in the Nevada desert last season.
