Thursday, July 25: An amended timetable saw free practice action take centre stage at the Grand Prix of Vichy on the Allier River on Thursday morning. The timetable for the second round of the UIM-ABP European Continental Aquabike Championship was modified because of river access restrictions for the afternoon and an earlier start saw all the practice sessions shoehorned into a frantic morning on the water.
First up were the Ski GP3 entrants with seven taking advantage of the session to shakedown their race craft for the weekend.
Hungary’s Lajos Komonyi, Julian Kristoffersen and the Belgian trio of Jonathan Renier Loris Lambert and Phil Segers were among the front-runners.
Six of the seven Runabout GP4 carried out their stint on the water and Frenchman Adrien Bussolon topped the times with a lap of 1min 39.09sec. That was 1.32 seconds quicker than the best run set by Ibiza-based Spaniard Alejandro Prats Palau. Juliusz Roman, Dovydas Kutra, Christian Cagnard and Michele Cadei also took part in the session but Petr Dryjak was a non-starter.
Nine of the 10 Ski GP4 entries carried out their free practice and Frenchman Baptise Calmels comfortably topped the times with a lap of 1min 36.10sec from Mathys Mezière, Latvia’s Daniils Potrivailo and the French quartet of Philippe Achard, Mickael Traclet, Jennifer Poret and Valentine Coutier. Belgian Yoni Hamelin was a non-starter.
Ten girls lined up for the Runabout GP4 Ladies session. Ilaria Vanni was the first to break the two-minute barrier and she remained the class of the field throughout. Cyrielle Bramm had got the better of the Italian last weekend in Hungary and trailed in her wake in third behind Luísa Beja. Arianna and Ludovica Urlo, Volia Dzikovich and Astra Gurkšnytė were all in close contention. Nicole Cadei only ran for one lap at the foot of the timings.
Entrants in the Ski Expert (not UIM) and Veteran GP1 section joined forces for a practice session that featured nine of the 10 riders, of which four were entered in the Veteran GP1 category. Daan Hoeke, Yoni Hamelin, Alex Barret and Sylvester Robin were the class of the Ski Expert field and Eddy Godon of France ran quicker than Anthony Errecart, Virginie Morlaes and Gabor Szabo in the Veterans. Swiss racer Alexandre Girel was a non-starter.
Eight Ski Junior 3.3 riders took part in their free practice session and the stint featured young racers from Montenegro, France, Hungary, Norway, Belgium, Sweden and the UAE. Belgian Maxime Arthebise was among the pace-setters along with Lajos Komonyi and Quentin Duporte.
Lithuanian riders dominated the Runabout GP4 Junior free practice and Grantas Gurkšnys came out on top with a best lap of 1min 34.07sec to finish the stint well up on Dovydas Kutra, Erikas Butkus and Adas Zalagaitis. Italian Aurora Filiberti was fifth in the rankings.
Nine racers entered the Ski GP2 free practice and Daan Hoeke got the better of Luuk Hoeke by just over a second. Finland’s Jerry Olin, Portugal’s Manuel Leite and Csongor Jászai of Hungary ran close behind. Frenchman David Monthule was a non-starter.
Ten of the 11 Runabout GP2 riders took to the water and Czech Petr Dryjak narrowly beat Frenchman Pierre-François Savelli to the early bragging rights with a best tour of 1min 24.33sec on his third lap. Michele Marras of Italy and the Belgian duo of Robin Laforge and Tom Claerhout were their closest challengers. Girel was a non-starter.
Fifteen of the 16 Runabout GP1 racers were next on to the river to give several a short rest before the first of the Endurance Motos later in the morning. Current World Champion François Medori headed the world class field with the fastest lap of 1min 24.65sec at the start of the session
Poland’s Andrzej Wisniewski, Frenchman Florian Bardoux, Ruben Jimenez Riquelme of Spain, Guillaume Hemain and Italy’s Manuel Reggiani were his closest challengers. Sweden’s Samuel Johansson only ran for three laps to shake down his Sea-Doo before the first of the Endurance heats. Likewise, Endurance GP1 pole-sitter Lino Araújo ran for just four laps. Rasmus Koch Hansen was a non-starter.
Ski Ladies GP1 entrants were the penultimate group on to the river and Estonian’s Jasmiin Ypraus renewed her rivalry with French girl Jessica Chavanne. Janina Johansson, Estelle Poret and Bendicte Drange, Virginie Morlaes, Sofie Borgström, Joana Graça and Naomi Benini are also registered for the weekend’s action.
Twenty-four Ski GP1 riders registered their intent to challenge for honours in Vichy and current European Championship leader Morgan Poret ran quicker than World Championship front-runner Quinte Bossche through the opening laps of the free practice session. Jeremy Poret was also well placed in the star-studded field, alongside the likes of Mads and Oliver Koch Hansen, Alec Enderli and Andrea Guidi.
Morgan Poret eventually topped the times on his Kommander with a fastest third lap of 1min 26.06sec from Bossche, Jeremy Poret, Mads and Oliver Koch Hansen and Benjamin Scharff. Ypraus entered the Ski GP1 session as well and finished with a best opening lap of 1min 42.18sec. Valentin Dardillat, Tanguy Mezière, Jeremy Rathoin and Maxence Russel were non-starters.