Friday, May 10: Vichy O’Sports and Aquabike Promotion have confirmed that round two of this year’s UIM-ABP European Continental Aquabike Championship and the European Endurance Championship will be held on the Allier River in the historic French spa city of Vichy. The river is the left tributary of the Loire that rises in the Massif Central in the Lozère department, east of Mende and will host the Endurance Championship on July 24th-28th and the Grand Prix of Vichy on July 26th-28th. 

The Grand Prix of Vichy will be organised by Vichy O’Sports and Aquabike Promotion in the second largest city in the Auvergne region under the management of Gilles Poret, an experienced and enthusiastic Frenchman with a passion for jet-ski racing.

Poret said: “The O’Sports Team is young but has been present in jet racing for many years. We take pleasure in growing as a team and offering a great racing environment for riders, from novices to seasoned professionals with sporting fairness the aim. The team will work hard to allow riders to put on a great show for the public and the widest possible audience.

“The centre of the city of Vichy represents the ideal setting for sports and nautical activities. The Allier River offers spectacular and potentially difficult racing conditions with the river banks sending waves back on to the circuit. Spectators have full visibility of the circuit and will be able to enjoy the full racing spectacle. Vichy is unique and will be a true test for a speed or endurance racer. The city has hosted numerous motorboating events in the past.

“O’Sports and the city of Vichy organised an international event in 2023 but 2024 will be even better with stronger involvement from the community of Vichy, Vichy Sports, the Rhône-Alpes Auvergne Region, Aquabike Promotion, the UIM and, of course, the French Motorboating Federation.

“France is a beautiful country and organising events is often difficult and complicated but the result is always magical. In France, our discipline sometimes suffers from a bad image built on false information, but O’Sports works with the Federation to raise awareness among practitioners of the need to unite and adopt respectful behaviour towards the environment. Organising the Vichy Grand Prix will reunite the whole aquabiking family with the general public.

“This is why we wanted to combine the second round of the European Continental Championship with the European Endurance Championship. The entire aquabike family must be there to defend its future in France. To attract an even bigger audience, we are complementing the racing with an aquabike boat show and we have numerous confirmations from manufacturers, propeller makers, preparation companies and players in the field.”