Sunday, June 23: Defending World Champion Jessica Chavanne, Belgian Quinten Bossche, Estonian Mattias Siimann and Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla secured Grand Prix victories in the Ski Ladies GP1, Ski Division GP1, Runabout GP1 and Freestyle categories in difficult conditions at the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy in Olbia on Sunday afternoon.

Moto 3 victories fell to Estonia’s Jasmiin Ypraus, Bossche with Sweden’s Samuel Johansson and Al-Mulla taking Moto 2 wins in their respective ski divisions.

Ypraus led from start-to-finish to win Moto 3 in the Ski Ladies GP1 but third place behind Benedicte Drange was enough for Chavanne to win the Grand Prix from French rival Estelle Poret. As far as the World Championship is concerned - after six Motos in Vietnam and Sardinia – Ypraus holds a single-point lead over Poret to take to November’s showdown in Indonesia. Chavanne is 12 points behind in third.

Chavanne said: “I am so happy. I didn’t expect this from this race because my ski is new. It was hard because the girls have improved a lot. Six or seven of the girls are really at a high level. I had some good battles.”

Quinten Bossche delivered his third successive Ski Division GP1 Moto win to claim the GP win in Sardinia from Austrian rival Kevin Reiterer and Morgan Poret. The Belgian’s weekend performances mean that the Belgian will take a 24-point lead over Reiterer to the World Championship showdown on Lake Toba in November. He has now won six successive Motos in Vietnam and Italy.

Bossche said: “I think that was another perfect score this weekend with the qualifier, all three heats and the hole shot and we led from the start to the end. I am really happy for my team. I am not always happy with myself but it was amazing. It was nicer out there today actually and a bit better on my back and my arms. I had to do the qualifier on Friday because I didn’t have the full contract and I did a lot of laps this weekend in very rough conditions. My body is tired.”

Sweden’s Samuel Johansson led the second Runabout GP1 Moto from start-to-finish but it was not enough to stop the impressive Estonian racer Mattias Siimann from securing the Grand Prix win. French defending World Champion François Medori rounded off the weekend’s podium but Johansson’s consolation for missing out on the Grand Prix win was a three-point lead over Medori in the World Championship standings.

Grand Prix winner Siimann said: “There were not so many waves but I was more tired today. For me, it was harder today but I had a great result so I can be happy. I was saving my ski and I was so tired. I didn’t want to take any risks because I already knew that I would be first (by finishing second in Moto 3).”

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla sealed Moto 2 success and the Grand Prix victory in the Freestyle category after yet another jaw-dropping programme that included a couple of double back flips. Italian rival Roberto Mariani was adjudged to be second and fellow countryman Massimo Accumulo was third.

Chavanne seals Ski Ladies GP1 victory; Moto 3 win for Ypraus

Defending World Champion and pole-sitter Jessica Chavanne and French girl Estelle Poret lined up against 10 rivals for their Moto 3 tied on 47 points apiece in the battle for the Grand Prix win. Emma-Nellie Ortendahl was seven points adrift in third.

After a disappointing Saturday, Ypraus took the hole shot and began to edge away from Benedicte Drange, Chavanne, Poret, Ortendahl, River Varner and Naomi Benini. Virginie Morlaes was stuck on the start pontoon with technical issues and was not able to start.

Ypraus was in sensational form and had already increased her lead over Drange to 4.193 seconds after two laps. Chavanne was able to stay ahead of Poret in the battle for the Grand Prix win. Sofie Borgström took a tumble as the leading five riders held their positions into the remaining six and a half minutes of the Moto.

Ypraus survived a minor mistake in the closing minutes to confirm the Moto win by 5.923 seconds from Drange. Chavanne was able to stay ahead of Poret to take third place and confirm victory in the Grand Prix with Poret coming home fourth to take second place over the race weekend. Ortendahl finished on the bottom step of the podium. In Moto 3, Ortendahl was fifth, Varner came home in sixth and Naomi Benini, Borgström, Janina Johansson and Lisa Caussin Battaglia rounded off the top 10. 

Moto 3 success and Ski Division GP1 win for Quinten Bossche

Two stunning Moto wins had earned Belgian sensation Quinten Bossche a full house of 50 points and he began the third Sardinian Moto on pole with a six-point cushion over Austrian Kevin Reiterer. Morgan and Jeremy Poret were tied for third, eight points behind Reiterer, and Japan’s Toshi O’Hara was a point further behind in fifth.

Twenty-five riders lined up for the weekend’s Ski Division GP1 finale in increasingly difficult water conditions. Bossche took the outside split and took the hole shot and the early lead from Morgan Poret, O’Hara, Jeremy Poret, Reiterer, Valentin Dardillat, Alec Enderli and Paul Thomas. Oliver Koch Hansen had changed his boat, started on the outside at the rear of the pontoon and moved up to 13th through lap one.

Bossche continued to edge away from Morgan Poret and Deven Farthing overtook Thomas and grabbed eighth place. With less than nine minutes on the clock, Anders Keller took a tumble and was towed off the course and Bossche had increased his lead over Morgan Poret to 7.953 seconds. There were no position changes inside the top eight until Koch Hansen overhauled Farthing.

Bossche was not to be denied yet another Moto win and the Belgian passed the chequered flag 7.268 seconds ahead of Morgan Poret to secure the Grand Prix win. O’Hara came home in third, Jeremy Poret was fifth but fourth for Reiterer was sufficient for the Austrian to finish second in the Grand Prix and ahead of Morgan Poret. In Moto 3, an impressive Koch Hansen, Dardillat, Enderli, Farthing and Thomas rounded off the top 10. Outgoing World Champion Mickael Poret was nursing a foot injury and finished 11th.

Mattias Siimann earns Runabout GP1 GP win; Moto 2 victory for Samuel Johansson

Mattias Siimann had clinched the Runabout GP2 world title earlier in the afternoon and the Estonian lined up in pole position for the second of the Runabout GP1 Motos with a three-point cushion over World Champion François Medori. The Frenchman’s closest world title rival Samuel Johansson was two points adrift in third and Martin Doulik Junior and Andrzej Wisniewski were still in contention for the Grand Prix win.

Twenty racers tackled the 25-minute flagship finale to the high-speed weekend’s action. Dustin Farthing missed out after a piston failure on his bike on Saturday. Despite a superb getaway by Siimann, the original start was red-flagged after an issue with the lights and the riders returned to the pontoon for a restart. Johansson stormed out of the blocks like a scalded cat and snatched the lead from Siimann, Wisniewski, Medori, Lino Araújo, Linus Lindberg, Ruben Riquelme, Jeremy Perez, Gyorgy Kasza and Martin Doulik. 

Siimann continued to apply the pressure on the leading Swede, as Perez moved up to seventh and Kasza snatched eighth at the expense of Riquelme. Guillaume Hemain pushed Doulik out of the top 10. As the race passed the halfway point, the top 10 retained their positions but then Medori passed Wisniewski and moved into third place. Araújo held fifth and Kasza took advantage of problems for Perez to move into sixth: the Hungarian then passed the Portuguese and moved into fifth.

But there was no stopping Johansson and the flying Swede coasted to a 18.427-second victory as runner-up Siimann claimed the Grand Prix win from Johansson and third-placed Medori. Wisniewski finished fourth, Kasza was fifth and Perez, Lindberg, Riquelme, Hemain and Juan Cruz Lezcano rounded off the final top 10 after late issues for Araújo and Doulik.

Rashid Al-Mulla seals Freestyle victory after Moto 2

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Mulla had dominated the first of the Freestyle Motos with a polished array of back flips, barrel-rolls, transitions, spins, combinations and somersaults and the Emirati followed up his performance on Saturday night with another stunning display, including two near-successful double back flips, to earn a resounding Grand Prix win and the outright lead in the World Championship. The judges awarded the Emirati 90 points for his on-water programme.

Defending World Champion Roberto Mariani delivered a varied programme of one-handers, back flips, 360s, a no-hander, throws and more traditional moves of his own to card 82 points with the judges after an excellent routine that gave him second place.

Portuguese pilot Paulo Nuñes was the first rider on to the water to entertain the Olbia crowds on a borrowed boat, followed by Morocco’s Fadil Yassine and Italy’s Massimo Accumulo. Accumulo was awarded 59 points by the judges and finished third with Yassine and Nuñes amassing 37 and 17 in fourth and fifth places.