Tuesday, February 20: François Medori had to wait 11 years to claim his second UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship in the Runabout GP1 category. But the 37-year-old, who lives in the commune of Ghisonaccia on the island of Corsica, prevailed on Indonesia’s stunning Lake Toba last November to seal a second world crown.

Back in 2012, Medori claimed his first Runabout GP1 World Championship title when he finished the season 43 points clear of fellow countryman Cyrille Lemoine after Motos in Qatar, Italy and China. After finishing fourth in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Corsican-born Doctor of Pharmacy took a step back from racing at the top level of the UIM World Championship. He was classified ninth in the shortened 2021 season and then finished as runner-up to Marcus Jorgensen in 2022 before triumphing again last year.

The runner-up spot in the second of the Motos on the giant volcanic lake at Balige in Sumatra enabled him to stay clear of fellow countryman Jeremy Perez to snatch the title by just five points. Heavy rain dampened spirits at the start of that all-important second Moto, where the Corsican lined up on the start pontoon with a three-point lead over Perez. Kuwait’s Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq was 10 points adrift in third but still in contention for a late title challenge.

Andrzej Wisniewski moved clear of Medori and Perez and held on to claim a sensational win in the final sprint. Perez won the actual Grand Prix of Lake Toba-Indonesia but Medori clinched his second world title, following two stunning Moto victories in Sardinia in the summer and third place in the opening Moto on Lake Toba the previous day.

Medori returns to Runabout GP1 racing when the 2024 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship gets underway at Quy Nhon in the province of Bình Đinh in central Vietnam on March 22nd-24th.