Motosurf Racing Is The Coolest Extreme Sport You’ve Likely Never Heard Of

In the pantheon of ‘cool extreme sports’, Motosurf racing is about as cool as it goes. The only thing holding the sport back from going mainstream is the fact that most people don’t even know it exists.

What is Motosurf racing?

If you type ‘Motosurf’ into your search bar then chances are you’ll find results for ‘Jetboard’. This is confusing because a Jetboard is what a racer rides when they are competing in a Motorsurf racing. It would be like typing ‘surfing’ into a search engine and all of the results are about surfboards and not the other 95% of the world of surfing.

Motosurf is a contraction of ‘Motorized Surfboard’. These have become immensely popular in recent years after the civilized world finally woke up and realized how cumbersome and miserable it is paddling on a surfboard.

Mark Zuckerberg has famously been seen riding a motorized surfboard before at his estate in Hawaii. And two surfers were recently busted for riding motorized surfboards in Venice, Italy in an incident that had the entire city gathering pitchforks.

Motosurf Racing is when people hop on these Motorized Surfboards, or Jetboard, and race around a course similar to 1980s JetSki races. The races are fast and the courses have twists and turn throughout. It is similar in nature to a Snowboarder X races at the X Games only this is on water and with jet-powered surfboards.

The barrier to entry is ‘cost’ and ‘location’

In order to compete in a Motosurf Competition you must meet 2 criteria. (1) purchase a Motosurf Jetboard. And (2), have access to the water. This isn’t the case for everyone as many of these competitions are held in coastal areas and not in lakes. I find this odd because the calmer/flatter water of lakes is much more suitable to a race like this than a bay with coastal winds.

The Jetboards are also expensive. An entry-level jetboard will cost several thousand dollars and a high-end model suitable for Motosurf racing can cost well over $10,000 (compared to $500 for a good surfboard). That is a LOT for a hobby that most people have never heard of and races that aren’t awarding huge cash prizes.

Once people see how incredible this sport is I’m convinced it will explode. Here is a highlight reel from the 2022 Mexico Grand Prix event:

This article has primarily focused on Motosurf Racing. But the beauty of a Jetboard is it really unlocks the water in ways a surfboard never would. Paddling long distances is tough on a surfboard. As is paddling into large waves.

But with a Motosurf Jetboard a surfer can easily access deeper water. They can get out to explore the unknown. So while racing can be the primary reason for purchasing one of these jetboards, cruising around is a pretty solid hobby.