News

Wednesday, March 5: The State of Qatar will host a round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike Circuit Pro World Championship for the first time in 10 years on October 30th-November 1st.

The final round of the 2025 World Championship will be hosted by the Doha Marine Sports Club (DMSC), under the presidency of Mr. Khalifa bin Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, and Aquabike Promotion and will see the sport returning to one of its most popular venues. The agreement to host the final round was signed by Mr. Salah bin Ibrahim Al-Mannai, Vice-President of the Doha Marine Sports Club, and Aquabike Promotion’s CEO Raimondo di San Germano.

Speaking at the signing, Al-Mannai said: “We are very excited to be hosting the final round of the World Championship in Qatar from October 30th to November 1st. Aquabike Promotion has a long and prestigious history in organising events of this nature and we are looking forward to hosting competitors from across the planet.”

Raimondo di San Germano added: “We are delighted to be returning to Qatar after a 10-year absence to what was one of the most popular rounds of the World Championship. We enjoyed terrific racing and a warm welcome every time we hosted a Grand Prix in Qatar and we are sure that this will continue now we have agreed this exciting new association with the Doha Marine Sports Club. We thank Khalifa bin Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, President of the Doha Marine Sports Club, and Salah bin Ibrahim Al-Mannai for their support in making this exciting venture happen.”

The former Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) hosted a round of the aquabike series on Doha Bay between March 2011 and its closure in March 2015. The QMSF and H2O Racing also hosted rounds of the UIM F1H2O World Championship between 2005 and 2015.

Qatar’s Thamer Al-Darwish managed to secure a dramatic victory in the Runabout GP1 category at the last Grand Prix of Qatar in 2015. Nacho Armillas of Spain prevailed over the French duo of Jérémy Poret and Alex Barret in Ski Division GP1 and fellow Spaniard Sandra Fernandez Hernandez topped the standings in Ski Ladies GP1.

Qatar’s hosting of a Grand Prix in 2015 came in the era when the Slovenian Florjancic brothers were dominating the Freestyle category. Nac pipped his brother Rok to the Grand Prix win at what was then the opening round of the World Championship.