Friday, May 3: The UIM-ABP European Continental Aquabike Championship has been growing in significance year-after-year and is no longer a mere stepping stone to the World Championship.

Aquabike Promotion has already announced that this year’s championship will be fought out over three rounds in Hungary, France and Portugal with the city of Győr hosting the opening Grand Prix on July 19th-21st.

“We are delighted to see the European Continental Championship continue to expand and thrive and are looking forward to seeing the season develop with competitors from many nations expected to attend the three Grand Prix,” said Aquabike Promotion’s Raimondo di San Germano. “The future looks bright for this series and we are looking forward to working with local organisers at the three fantastic race locations we have for this season’s championship.”

Győr is the sixth-largest city in Hungary, is conveniently situated halfway between Vienna and Budapest and is easy to reach by numerous efficient transport links. Located on the Moson arm of the mighty Danube River, the city will host Motos in the Runabout GP1, Ski Division and Ski Ladies GP1 and Freestyle categories, in addition to hosting competitors in Ski Division GP2, GP3 and GP4, Runabout GP2 and GP4, Runabout GP4 Ladies, Runabout GP1 Veterans  and the single round of the  Runabout Junior GP4, Ski GP3 Junior 3.2 and 3.3 World Championship.

While the majority of the on-water action will take place from Zámoly Beach on a lake in the nearby village of Győrzámoly, event spokesman Gabor Szabo has confirmed that there will also be spectacular Friday night (July 19th) Freestyle action on the Danube-Rába confluence in the historic downtown of the city of Győr in front of the Kossuth Bridge from 20.00hrs. The opening ceremony will also be held in downtown Győr.

The location for the closed course events is an old quarry in Győrzámoly, which is a popular residential area in the agglomeration of Győr (also called "The City of Rivers"). It is located in the Lower Szigetköz, which is an island on the Danube between the main arm of the river and the Mosoni-Duna (smaller arm). Győr is the meeting point of four rivers: the Mosoni, Danube, Rába and Marcal.

Szabo said: “I am sure that this event will help to make the city and the area well known abroad and thus promote tourism in this beautiful region. It was always the aim to bring international racing to our region and it is an honour to host the first round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike European and Junior World Championships.”

Győr is a charming location for the opening round with its narrow winding streets, old houses, meandering river channels and varied architecture.