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Saturday, September 6: Saturday morning’s action at the Grand Prix of Vichy, France on the Allier River centred around the second Motos in the minor categories.
Moto 2 successes in the Ski GP2, Runabout GP4 Ladies, Runabout GP4, Ski GP3, Ski GP3.3 Junior and Runabout GP2 categories went to Daan Hoeke, Kätrin Nilbe,Grantas Gurkšnys, Yoni Hamelin, Leo Kete and Domantas Vaznys.
After a lunch break, the second Motos resumed for the Ski GP4, Ski GP4 Junior and Runabout GP4 entrants. Victories went to Mathys Meziere, Francesco Mariani and Rihard Leinsalu, the latter also winning his opening Moto on Saturday morning. Meziere also confirmed the European Ski Division GP4 title with one Moto to spare.
Daan Hoeke closes in on European title with second Ski GP2 Moto win
Daan Hoeke got his revenge on Moto 1 winner Csongor Jászai by topping the standing in the second Ski Division GP2 Moto. The 7.03-second success over title rival Karl Joosep Steinberg gave the Dutchman a two-point lead over Jászai in the Grand Prix standings but, more importantly, means that he heads into the final Moto on Sunday with a 16-point cushion over Steinberg in the European Championship.
Hoeke completed the 11-lap heat in just over 18 minutes on his Kawasaki with Jászai coming home in third, ahead of Marten and Marlon Tiik and Martim Marques. The race was initially red-flagged after a crash involving Luuk Hoeke, who was not seriously injured in the incident.
Nilbe wins second Runabout GP4 Ladies Moto
Despite starting the second of the Runabout GP4 Ladies Motos from second position behind Aurora Filiberti, Estonian Kätrin Nilbe was able to claw her way to the front of the field to take the win in the second of the Motos. The Seadoo rider reached the chequered flag 4.60 seconds ahead of French girl Cyrielle Bramm. The result has given Nilbe a seven-point lead in the Grand Prix standings.
Italy’s Nicole Cadei rounded off the podium places in the heat and European champion-elect Nikola Dryjakova of the Czech Republic finished fourth, ahead of Katarina Sepp and a struggling Filiberti, the latter now holding joint second with Bramm in the Grand Prix standings.
Alizée Vanden-Blecken, Ilaria Vanni, Luisa Beja and Astra Gurkšnytė rounded off the finishers.
Gurkšnys on a roll with second Runabout GP4 Moto win
Grantas Gurkšnys has been in terrific form in France and Friday’s pace and stamina followed through to the second Runabout GP4 Moto on Saturday morning. The Lithuanian led the 10-lap heat from pole and managed to carve out a 10.32-second winning advantage over Ibiza-based Spaniard Alejandro Prats Palau, with Arti Mölter coming home in third.
The result means that Gurkšnys heads into the final Moto on Sunday with an eight-point cushion over those two rivals in the Grand Prix standings and he leads the European Championship by seven points from Prats Palau.
Dovydas Kutra finished the second Moto in fourth place, ahead of Henri Koppas and Kauri Kaunispaik. Juliusz Roman saw his title challenge fizzle out with retirement after six laps, while Rihard Leinsalu was a non-starter.
Hamelin sets up a grandstand Ski GP3 finale with Moto 2 win; GP3.3 Junior Moto success for Kete
Victory in the second of the Motos for the talented young Belgian racer Yoni Hamelin has set up the prospect of a grandstand finish to the European Ski Division GP2 season.
Hamelin managed to see off Hungarian rival Csongor Jászai to take the chequered flag just 0.15 seconds ahead of his rival. That result means he heads into the final showdown on Sunday in a duel with his rival for Grand Prix honours.
But the destiny of the European Championship title is far less straightforward. Portugal’s Manuel Leite finished the second Moto down in seventh place, with title rivals Alexandre Bourgeois and Michael van Reybroek down in sixth and 12thpositions. That means Leite and van Reybroek are tied on 198 points apiece with Bourgeois on 196 and Jászai moving into contention on 189. A two-lap penalty for invading an alternate course in Moto 2 may well prove very costly for van Reybroek come the end of Sunday’s action.
Bram Hoeke rounded off the podium finishers. Neither Maxime Lemire nor Loris Lambert started the Moto.
Another Moto success for Leo Kete has given the Slovenian an unassailable lead over Frenchman Maxime Arthebise in the Ski GP3.3 Junior championship, although Grand Prix honours are still up for grabs.
Vaznys makes it two from two in Runabout GP2
Lithuania’s Domantas Vaznys took advantage of pole position for the second of the Runabout GP2 Motos to claim yet another win and pile the pressure on Alejandro Prats Palau and Tom Claerhout in the title race. Vaznys dominated the second 12-lap Moto and reached the chequered flag 40.77 seconds ahead of the German runner-up Justin Patzner. He now has a six-point cushion over the German in the Grand Prix standings.
Prats Palau finished third but dropped another five points to Vaznys. Miguel de Oliveira came home in fourth, ahead of Manuel Reggiani, Claerhout and Patrick Moora.
Meziere confirms European Ski GP4 title with Moto 2 win
Frenchman Mathys Meziere confirmed the European Ski Division GP4 title with one Moto to spare after finishing first overall ahead of Latvia’s Daniils Potrivailo in the second of the Motos. Potrivailo led for much of the Moto before ceding the lead to the Frenchman, although the outcome of the Grand Prix itself will be decided on the final day with Meziere holding an eight-point lead over a tying Grantas Gurkšnys and Potrivailo.
With the young Estonian Ander-Hubert Lauri not starting the heat, Gurkšnys finished third and is now locked in a three-way tussle with Potrivailo and Lucas Mouchotte for second and third places in the championship. Jennifer Poret finished fourth in Moto 2 ahead of Mouchotte and Lionel Bourrel. Francesco Mariani was the only entrant in the Ski Division GP4 Juniors category.
Moto 1 and 2 victories for Leinsalu in Runabout GP4
Runabout GP4 Junior contenders tackled two Motos on Saturday. Reinhard Leinsalu managed to pass pole-sitter Aurora Filiberti to take the laurels in the opening Moto that kickstarted the action on Saturday morning. The Estonian finished the eight-lap race 2.78 seconds ahead of Ayrton Cecere, with Katarina Sepp, Francesco Bassenghi and Filiberti wrapping up the finishers.
Leinsalu’s win enabled him to move into the championship lead and also gave him pole position for the second Moto in the afternoon. The Estonian made that advantage count and he edged away from Cecere and Filiberti to eventually pass the chequered flag 2.49 seconds ahead of Cecere. The win enabled him to extend his lead in the European Championship and tighten his grip on the Grand Prix to six points. Filiberti came home in third, ahead of Bassenghi and a struggling Sepp.