Thursday, November 7: For the second year, the stunning volcanic Lake Toba on the Indonesian island of Sumatra will host the UIM-ABP Aquabike Endurance World Championship on November 13th-15th.
Twenty-four entrants from a dozen countries graced the impressive entry list at the start of this week and they include several of the most famous names in world aquabike racing.
The in-form and recently crowned European Endurance champion François Medori could well be the hot favourite to continue his winning streak although last year’s World Runabout GP1 World Champion will be aiming to defend that title as well over the five days of racing on Lake Toba and will need to be in peak physical fitness to cope with the intense humidity and energy-sapping heat.
One of Medori’s closest match-ups will be against his Easy Rider team boss and racing legend Teddy Pons, who is also making the trip to Indonesia. Portugal’s Lino Araújo won the first of the European Endurance Motos in Vichy in the summer and will be aiming for success in the six Motos over three days alongside fellow countryman Anderson Dos Santos Gouveia. Meanwhile, neighbouring Spain will be represented by Ruben Jimenez Riquelme and Aitzol Beristain.
Further European interest in the three days of gruelling racing comes from Swede Johan Johansson, Hungary’s György Kasza and the Italian quintet of Michele Cadei, Lorenzo Benaglia, Alberto Santini, Ezio Lucchese and Serb Slobodan Sobic, who has entered under an Italian racing licence.
Kylie and Cliff Ellmers make the trip from New Zealand and Queensland-based Scott Phillips – the Australian Pro Open Runabout Endurance champion – will represent Australia. Aquabiking is a fledgling racing discipline in the People’s Republic of China and the appearance of both Chen Shan and Rui Huang is sure to stoke further interest in the most populated country on the planet.
Neighbouring Thailand will be represented by Permphon Teerapatpanich, the experienced Jun Ikoma and Isahai Hajime have entered under the Japanese flag and there are two Cambodian entries for Ou Mouet Saly and Filin Saly. American Anthony Radetic completes the line-up: he finished second in last year’s inaugural World Endurance encounter in Indonesia.
The northern Sumatran venue hosted the stand-alone three-day championship for the first time in 2023 and French veteran racer Jean Bruno Pastorello emerged victorious from three days of racing for the Karo, Dairi and Samosir Cups. He earned 154 points to beat Radetic to the title by just five points with Kuwait’s Rashed Al-Dawas, Emirati Rashed Al-Tayer and Johan Johansson rounding off the top five. Twenty-two riders scored points over the three days.
Six Motos over three days of racing will decide the outcome of this year’s championship as well. Riders will compete for the Karo Cup over two heats from the village of Tongging on November 13th and then move on to the towns of Silalahi and Parapat to race for the Dairi and Simalungun Cups on November 14th and 15th.
The opening ceremony will take centre stage in Tongging from 11.00hrs (GMT +7) on November 13th and this precedes the two 35-minute endurance races for the Karo Cup, starting at 11.30hrs and 14.00hrs, respectively. Riders will then return to Pangururan on the western shores of Samosir Island for the night halt.
A transfer from Pangururan to Silalahi precedes the Dairi Cup on November 14th with both Motos starting at similar times to day one before the return transfer to Pangururan.
A transfer to Parapat on the eastern shoreline of Lake Toba takes riders around Samosir Island to the start location for the two Simalungun Cup Motos. These are scheduled for 11.30hrs and 14.00hrs and are split by a Freestyle show to entertain the crowds, starting at 13.40hrs. After the customary daily prize giving ceremony, riders will return to Pangururan.
The spectacular volcanic Lake Toba forms part of the Toba Caldera UNESCO Global Geopark and is one of five UNESCO global geoparks in Indonesia. It is one of Indonesia’s Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP).