News
Wednesday, September 17: The coastal town of Torre Dell’Orso will host the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro Offshore Grand Prix of Puglia next weekend (September 26th-28th).
Organising by Aquabike Promotion and Hardwave, the event will be the stand-alone round of the exciting UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro Offshore World Championship for three Runabout class disciplines. They will compete for World Championship honours over four Motos on a demanding offshore course, where the weather and sea conditions can often play a part in determining the outcome and physical stamina can also play a large role.
Some of Europe’s finest aquabikers and offshore specialists will descend on this beautiful part of Italy at the start of next week to make their final preparations for the two days of racing.
Topping the list is the endurance man of the moment, François Medori. The Corsica-based pharmacist is the defending European endurance champion and was last year’s world champion in the onshore version of the sport, but offshore racing offers many different challenges and the ability and performance of many of his rivals will be unknown until the opening Moto.
The provisional entry list for the flagship Runabout GP1 category shows Medori lining up against a host of French, Italian, Spanish and German riders. They include the French quintet of Vincent Thomas, Cyril Destro, Mathis Vincendeau, Corentin Breton and Stephane Adam.
Germany and Spain will be represented by Frederik Brandao and Javier Sergio Severi and the likes of Michele Cadei, Ezio Lucchese and Alfio Galiano represent the host nation on the waters of the Adriatic Sea.
Italians dominate the secondary Runabout GP2 category with Frenchman Denis Lorentz lining up in a field that includes Cesare Taurino, Giuseppe Parilla, Fabio Guarda, Luigi Borzachiello, Pierantonio Rizzardo and Matthias Giraldo.
Spaniards dominate the Runabout GP3 field with Enrique Garcia Muniz, Lander Romero and Ian Traba Arca heading a line-up that also includes Italy’s Juri Tiozzo and Frenchman Michel Jurado.
Torre Dell’Orso is a tourist destination on the east coast of Puglia in the area known as Salento.
Registration, technical scrutineering, engine testing and a drivers’ briefing gets the itinerary underway on Friday, September 26th. These formalities pave the way for a pair of Motos to run on Saturday and Sunday.
Motos 1 and 3 on Friday and Saturday morning will run for 35 laps from 10.00hrs and feature an anti-clockwise course with refuelling possible. Moto 2 uses a clockwise course, runs for 40 laps and fires into life from 15.00hrs each day. The combination of the results from each of the Motos will determine the outcome of the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro Offshore World Championship.