Thursday, October 12: The final round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship is shaping up to be a thriller with a strong field of entrants already received in the Runabout Gp1, Ski Division GP1, Ski Ladies GP1 and Freestyle categories for the Grand Prix of Lake Toba, Indonesia.
The on-water action will take place on November 25th and 26th on the spectacular volcanic lake, which forms part of the Toba Caldera UNESCO Global Geopark and is one of five UNESCO global geoparks in Indonesia.
A number of the competitors have also entered the three races (Karo Cup, Dairi Cup and Samosir Cup) that form the exciting stand-alone round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike Endurance World Championship and they will need to conserve their aquabikes to an extent to avoid missing out on the final round of the World Championship. Sixteen nations will be represented in the Endurance races on November 22nd-24th.
After two Motos at the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy, Frenchman François Medori has edged into an eight-point advantage over fellow countryman Jeremy Perez in the Runabout GP1 points’ standings. An all-French top three is currently rounded off by Jean-Baptiste Botti, with Kuwait’s Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq and Ibiza-based Spaniard Alejandro Molina Miranda within striking distance in fourth and fifth positions.
With the exception of Botti, the other four racers have already entered the Indonesian race. They will line-up against 10 other racers, although more entries are expected in the coming days. The Swedish duo of Samuel and Johan Johansson will be hoping to make their mark and currently hold sixth and 10th in the championship. Rasmus Koch Hansen, Marcus Jorgensen and Martin Alhaj represent neighbouring Denmark, Frederik Brandao flies the German flag and Mario Lamy represents Slovakia.
Other Runabout GP1 entrants currently include Pole Andrzej Wisniewski, Italy’s Lorenzo Benaglia and American Anthony Radetic.
Dane Oliver Koch Hansen heads to Lake Toba with a slender two-point lead over Mickael Poret in the Ski Division GP1 category. Spaniard Nacho Armillas is seven points behind and the French duo of Axel Courtois and Morgan Poret still hold outside chances of challenging for the podium at the end of the season.
The leading group will currently face competition from a further 10 racers. They include the Norwegian duo of Dag Martin Drange and Daniel Svae Andersson. Boosting the current entry still further are Belgium’s Anthony Beernaut, Matteo Benini and Daniele Piscaglia of Italy and Hungary’s Barnabas Szabo. Entries have also been received from Mads Koch Hansen, Alec Enderli, Slaven Ivancic, Benjamin Scharff and Valentin Dardillat.
The outcome of the Ski Ladies GP1 category is nicely poised before the trip to Sumatra. The French duo of Jessica Chavanne and Estelle Poret are currently separated by four points, with Estonia’s Jasmiin Ypraus a close third and just one point adrift of Poret. Chavanne won two of the Motos in Sardinia to one win earned by Ypraus, while three second-place finishes kept Poret firmly in contention for the world title, although she is yet to register for the finale in Indonesia.
Currently, there are 11 racers on the list for Ski Ladies GP1, with Sweden represented by four girls - Jonna Borgström, Janina Johansson, Sofie Borgström and Emma Nellie Ortendahl. The latter currently holds fourth in the title race with Janina in sixth and Sofie in eighth.
Virginie Morlaes of France will make the trip to south-east Asia, along with Portugal’s Joana Graca, Monaco-based Lisa Caussin Battaglia, Italy’s Naomi Benini and Benedicte Drange of Norway.
Roberto Mariani and Rashid Al-Mulla are currently tied at the top of the Freestyle rankings on 47 points after a first and a second place apiece in Sardinia. Their spectacular sequences of flips, somersaults and rolls delighted the crowds in Olbia and are going to be one of the major attractions for the massive crowd of spectators that is expected to line the shores of Lake Toba at the end of next month.
Portugal’s Paulo Nunes and Morocco’s Yassine Fadli will also make the trip. They are currently fourth and fifth in the rankings after Sardinia.