Monday, June 3: The Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy is now just three weeks away and Aquabike Promotion has drip fed a few names that grace the latest entry lists for the second round of the UIM-ABP World Aquabike Championship in Olbia on June 21st-23rd.
The latest unofficial list features 29 racers in the Runabout GP1 category, 20 in Runabout GP2, 15 in Runabout GP4, 10 in Runabout GP4 Ladies, 37 in Ski Division GP1, five in Ski Division GP2, eight in GP3 and nine in GP4. A dozen Ski Ladies GP1 entrants and six racers in Freestyle round off the mightily impressive unofficial entry list.
This week we take a closer look at the ever-growing Ski Division categories where Belgian sensation Quinten Bossche currently leads the World Championship by 11 points from Austrian Kevin Reiterer. Riders from 17 nations grace the formidable line-up of 27 aquabikers with Bossche and Reiterer likely to face a ferocious challenge from a small army of French racers, who include the three Poret brothers, Mickael, Jeremy and Morgan, Valentin Dardillat, Alexandre Bourgeois, Tanguy Meziere, Paul Thomas, Alex Courtois and Eddy Godon.
Phil Segers, Alex Barret, Antony Beernaut, Maxence Russel and Xavier Pesslaux represent Belgium alongside Bossche, while Slaven Ivancic, Gabor Szabo, Tomaz Kete, Kerto Kase and Lukas Binar have entered from Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic. Dag Martin Drange and Daniel Svae Andersen represent Norway, Mads and Oliver Koch Hansen fly the flag for Denmark and Daniele Piscaglia, Andrea Guidi and Matteo Benini will be hoping for success on home waters.
Saudi Arabia’s Mansour and Nizar Abujadayel, Japan’s Toshi O’Hara, Sweden’s Felix Helgesen, Australian sensation Jayden Richardson, Portugal’s Manuel Leite, Swiss racer Alec Enderli, American Sebastien Girello and Germany’s Marc Hassner round off a staggering Ski Division GP1 field.
A dozen of the fastest girls on the planet will contest the Ski Ladies GP1 category where Jasmiin Ypraus currently holds a 12-point cushion over Estelle Poret. The list contains both series front-runners, in addition to defending World Champion Jessica Chavanne, and former Swedish world champions Emma-Nelli Ortendahl and Sofie Borgström.
French girl Virginie Morlaes, Norway’s Benedicte Drange, American River Varner, Portugal’s Joanna Graca, Italy’s Naomi Benini, Monaco’s Lisa Caussin Battaglia and Swede Janina Johansson round off the potent female entry.
The Ski Division GP2 entry features the Italian duo of Paolo Petronelli and Stefano Attianese, Portugal’s Matteo Valente, Hungarian Csongor Jaszai and Estonian Mattias Reinass.
Jaszai could potentially be one of the front runners in Ski Division GP3 as well, where he lines up alongside fellow countryman Lajos Komonyi, the Belgian trio of Loris Lambert, Pierre Defays and Yoni Hamelin, Croatian Dorijan Jakopanec, Dane Frederik Frandsen and Italy’s Andrea Bergamo.
French and Italian racers feature strongly on the Ski Division GP4 entry: Valentine Coutier, Lucas Mouchotte, Baptiste Calmels and Jennifer Menard-Poret fly the Tricolour, Davide Pontecorvo, Carolina Vernata and Lino Brusadin represent the host nation and Latvia’s Daniils Potrivailo and Belgian Yoni Hamelin round off the entry.