Friday, July 21: Officials from H2O Racing, Aquabike Promotion, local promotor InJourney and the Indonesia government today announced an agreement to hold the concluding round of the UIM-ABP World Aquabike Championship and the single round of the UIM Aquabike Endurance World Championship on spectacular Lake Toba in November 2023.

The breathtaking venue in Sumatra has already hosted the opening round of this year’s UIM F1H2O World Championship and will now host the final round of the UIM-ABP World Aquabike Championship on November 25th-26th. That will be preceded by the three-day World Endurance Championship on November 22nd, 23rd and 24th.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Raimondo di San Germano, CEO of H2O Racing, and Doni Oskaria, President Director of InJourney (PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia – Persero) – a state-owned tourism and support holding company - in the presence of the four governors of the respective four provinces that will host the week’s racing.

The signing was carried out alongside the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) of the Ministry of Tourism and the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) at Plataran Borobudur in central Java.

The racing at a location that has already passed UIM inspections will further accelerate the development of tourism in the Lake Toba area as a Super Priority Tourism Destination (DPSP). Considered as the biggest jetski competition in the world, the racing bonanza will see the outcome of eight World Championship disciplines – Runabout Endurance, circuit races for Ski Ladies, Ski Division, Runabout and Freestyle and parallel slalom events for Ski Ladies, Ski Division and Runabout.

Raimondo di San Germano, CEO of H2O Racing, said: “We are delighted to continue to grow our relationship with Indonesia and InJourney, and the local authorities and people around Lake Toba. The inaugural Kopiko Grand Prix of Indonesia was an unmitigated success with massive support from the local community and we are delighted to now be taking world Aquabike racing to the area for the first time in November.”

Doni Oskaria, President Director of InJourney, added: “The organisation of the Aquabike World Championship on Lake Toba is our commitment to continue to develop Lake Toba as a sustainable sport tourism destination. The selection of four large districts in the Lake Toba region as the venue for the racing is a way to boost tourism in the Lake Toba area. This will have an extraordinary economic impact on the surrounding communities.”

H2O Racing management also signed a joint agreement with the North Sumatra provincial government, Toba regional government, Samosir regional government, Karo regional government and Dairi regional government. This was carried out as a form of commitment to developing tourism areas and to increase the potential of DPSP at Lake Toba.

The three endurance events will be staged on a closed-course circuit of around three-kilometres with a maximum time limit of one hour. Action gets underway with the Karo Cup between Pangururan and the race course at Tongging – 36km from Pangururan - on the northern shores of Lake Toba on November 22nd. The Cup will be decided by two races of 35 minutes apiece, starting at 11.30hrs and 14.00hrs, respectively.

Day two (November 23rd) sees endurance competitors battling it out for the Dairi Cup between Pangururan and Silalahi to the south, while the Samosir Cup on November 24th draws the endurance racing to a close at the base camp in Pangururan. The Dairi Cup will be decided over two 35-minutes races, starting at 11.30hrs and 14.00hrs, while the two Samosir Cup races start at 13.30hrs and 15.30hrs. 

The Circuit UIM-ABP World Aquabike Championship finale take centre stage in Balige on the southern shores of Lake Toba with free practice, pole position heats and the first of the Motos on November 25th. The remaining Motos take place to decide the outcome of the respective World Championships close to the circuit base camp on November 26th.

February’s Kopiko F1H2O Grand Prix of Indonesia had a significant impact on the national economy and had an estimated turnover of Rp300 billion ($20 million USD). In addition, as part of its social and environmental responsibility, InJourney launched the InJourney Hospitality House program in Balige. This is aimed at providing hospitality training to communities and businesses.