Pete Zernik throws his weight to the left, pulls tight on the handlebars and lets gravity do the rest.

It’s here, with an 800 cubic centimeter rocket beneath him, that the Sacramento native feels most at home – flying across the top of the water at speeds that would scare even the most diehard of adrenaline junkies and letting his instincts and his nerves guide him to safety.

He’ll be one of nearly 150 Jet Ski racers to take to the water today at Mossdale Quarry Lakes in Lathrop for the 2015 State Championship racing series – putting his skills on display as he dashes his way towards bragging rights and a massive 5-foot tall trophy.

Spills are inevitable. Injuries happen. But at the end of the day, professional riders like Zernik call the racing pursuit a labor of love.

“I’ve cruised across the United States and I have to say that of all of the competition that is out there in this sport, the local riders are among the best. They are definitely near the top of that list,” said Zernik after making the first weekend pass on the private body of water. “There are definitely bragging rights on the line here, but everybody gets along with everybody – we’re all out here doing this because we love it.

“The money isn’t quite there in this sport yet today so we all have regular jobs and end up putting all of our time and money into this. You have to love doing this in order to stay at it.”

Not everybody who will take to the water this weekend will be a professional.

Rick Ignacio, who spends his weeks working as a project manager for IBM, has spent the last 15 years hitting scary speeds on his personal watercraft and zigzagging the Western United States to face the best competition that the sport has to offer.

On Friday Iganacio was out at the lake early to assist with some of the early prep work necessary to make the weekend come together – an event, he said, that is eight years in the making.

And when it’s his turn, Ignacio will put on his lifejacket and buckle his helmet and push himself and his machine as hard as possible while only inches away from opponents that want it just as bad as he does.

“Some of these machines out here will hit 80 or 85 miles per hour and you’re sometimes only inches away from the guy next to you,” he said with a smile. “My friends always tell me that I’m an adrenaline junkie, and there’s definitely a bit of truth to that. There’s a sense of community among the riders and the people that spend their time doing this, and that makes it very inviting.

“This is definitely something that I love.”

The weekend races are being held in conjunction with the International Jet Sport Boat Association and Diablo Jet Ski Action racing, and the Saturday event will serve as the last qualified this season for the ISJBA World Finals at Lake Havasu in October.

Admission to Mossdale Quarry Lakes – held on the east side of I-5 off of the Manthey Road interchange – will be free for the weekend with a $5 donation requested for parking.

“Northern California has held the 5-foot tall Shootout Trophy for several years. This year’s NorCal vs. SoCal shootout will definitely be challenging, but in our favor – we do have the home court advantage and our racers have had more night racing experience than the Southern California racers have had,” said Diablo Jet Ski Racing Association Director Jim Lambert. “This will be the first ever shootout held under the lights so it will be very interesting to see how the night plays out. There is a large contingency of Southern California racers coming up for this race who have vowed that they aren’t leaving without this giant trophy so I guess it comes down to being a case of ‘who wants it more.’

“Regardless of where they finish, the real winners will be all of the racers and fans that get to take part in this large scale race event that will definitely make history in the Jet Ski racing world.”

Event registration will begin today at 6:30 a.m. with closed course qualifying beginning at 10 a.m. A freestyle competition will be held at 1 p.m. and closed course finals will start at 1:45 p.m. The final shootout under the lights will begin at 7 p.m. Action continues on Sunday starting at 10:30 a.m.

For more information visit www.rpmracingent.com or www.djsaracing.com. 

Sunday will feature races staged by the Diablo Jet Ski Action. Heats start Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The second heats are at 12:20 p.m. and the final heats at 2:30 p.m.