Sunday, November 17: Young Swede Samuel Johansson and Rashid Al-Mulla were crowned as the 2024 Runabout GP1 and Freestyle World Champions after their second Motos at the final round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship at the Grand Prix of Lake Toba, Indonesia in Sumatra on Sunday.

Johansson came into the final Moto of the season tied on 114 points with the defending World Champion François Medori and he managed to finish the race ahead of his French rival to seal the title. He also confirmed victory in the Grand Prix of Lake Toba, Indonesia from Medori and Jérémy Perez. Hungarian György Kasza had crossed the finish line in first place but was disqualified and that enabled Portugal’s Lino Araújo to snatch third in the World Championship standings.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla regained his Freestyle world title from Roberto Mariani after another polished performance in Pangururan that rounded off a sensational five days of intense competition on the world’s largest volcanic lake in Sumatra.

A special tribute was made by H2O Racing’s founder Nicolo di San Germano to the retiring Johan Johansson at the daily briefing before the start of the final day’s racing to celebrate the Swede’s outstanding and unwavering support for the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship since its inception. It was fitting that his son later became the 2024 Runabout GP1 World Champion.

Johansson wins Moto 3 to earn Grand Prix win and Runabout GP1 world title

Johansson and Medori were tied on 114 points apiece at the start of the final Runabout GP1 showdown to decide who would be the 2024 champion. Several riders were still in contention for the final step on the final podium, as Ario Bimo Nandito ‘Dito’ Ariotedjo, the Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports, rode a jet ski and joined the parade of nations before the start of the final Moto.

Medori led Johansson into the decisive second 25-minute Moto but the Swede managed to take the hole shot and grab control of the Moto with Perez holding second from Kasza, Araújo, Medori and Linus Lindberg. Johan Johansson held 13th on his final Moto but Andrzej Wisniewski and Chen Shan were not among the 15 riders who completed the start.

Lindberg and Juan Cruz Lezcano slipped out of contention early on as Medori climbed above Araújo to snatch fourth place. Kasza kept up the pressure on the Swede, however, with Martin Doulik Junior moving up to sixth ahead of Ruben Jimenez Riquelme. Kasza was forced to take a penalty buoy but maintained his assault on Johansson’s lead, as Medori continued his menacing climb by passing Perez to take third place with less than 15 minutes on the clock.

Despite being under investigation from race officials, Kasza overtook Johansson to take the lead on lap six and the Swede was now in Medori’s sights in the duel for the world title. The Frenchman began to breaths down his rival’s neck as the clock ticked down and Kasza reached lap 12 with a lead of 4.118 seconds: Johansson was just over one and a half seconds in front of Medori.

Kasza looked set for a memorable win but he was dramatically disqualified in the closing seconds as Johansson fended off a spirited late charge from Medori to win his maiden world title with the Moto 2 win by finishing just 3.292 seconds ahead of Medori.

Perez came home in third and Araújo and Doulik were fourth and fifth with Jimenez Riquelme, Rasmus Koch Hansen, Egidijus Kirilevicius and Mario Lamy wrapping up the top nine. The triumphant Johansson’s father Johan finished his final UIM-ABP Moto in 10th.

World Freestyle Championship title for Al-Mulla

Rashid Al-Mulla started the final Freestyle Moto of the season with a nine-point cushion over the Italian defending World Champion Roberto Mariani. That meant, barring a complete meltdown or a non-start, the Team Abu Dhabi star already had an unassailable lead in the World Championship.

He didn’t disappoint the crowds and another spectacular display of on-water acrobatics by all four entrants delighted the massive crowd and impressed the judges. Al-Mulla was awarded the necessary points and that was sufficient to regain the world title from runner-up and fan favourite Mariani and secure the win at the Grand Prix of Lake Toba, Indonesia.

Portugal’s Paulo Nuñes finished the season in third ahead of Morocco’s Yassine Fadli and the absent Massimo Accumolo.