News
Tuesday , June 24 - Having tasted success in Mira already, most of last year’s winners of the race will be returning to the Portuguese coastal town this season to try and make it two-for-two in this season’s opening round of the UIM Aquabike European Continental Championship.
They will be joining over a hundred riders across the racing categories who pack out the provisional entry list, with yet more expected to confirm their attendance before the entry list closes on Thursday, July 2.
All major categories see last year’s winners returning. Jeremy Perez proved unbeatable in Mira last year, comfortably winning all three Runabout GP1 Motos and setting the tone for the rest of the season, where the Frenchman dominated his competition and took home a second European title in a row.
Like Perez, Benedicte Drange put on a stunning performance in Mira last year, also taking home the full points after winning all three Ski Ladies GP1 Motos. Unlike Perez, however, Drange missed out on the European title, falling short of Jessica Chavanne by just ten points. A strong showing in Mira will therefore be at the forefront of Drange’s mind as she tries to retake the European Championship title she last secured in 2024, though with at least thirteen competitors in the Ski Ladies GP1 category, the Norwegian will have her work cut out.por
Morgan Poret came achingly close to sweeping the Ski GP1 category last year in Mira, narrowly missing out to current World Champion Oliver Koch Hansen in the second Moto, therefore finishing the weekend with 72 points and just short of the full 75 points available. The Frenchman therefore has an improvement to aim for coming back to Mira this season, a racing venue that saw him achieve by far his strongest results of last season. Trying to stop him will be two dozen riders registered for Ski GP1, amongst them his own brother and current European Champion Mickael Poret.
Meanwhile, as has been the case so many times during his spectacular racing career, Roberto Mariani utterly blew away the competition in last year’s Freestyle showdown in Mira. The Italian is eyeing up a twelfth European title this season, and will be aiming to make Mira his springboard for that unprecedented achievement.
In Mira’s minor categories, last year’s winners are set to return too, hoping to emulate last season’s success in front of Mira’s warm and enthusiastic crowds. Daan Hoeke returns in the Ski GP2 category after last year’s win, but will have his work cut out fending off Manuel Leite, who won all three of his Motos in Ski GP3 last year, and this year has registered for the Ski GP2 category too.
A similar story will take place in Runabout GP2, where last year’s winner Manuel Reggiani will face fresh competition from Henri Koppas, winner in the Runabout GP4 category last year and now making the step up to the more senior category.
A similar pattern repeats in Runabout Ladies GP4, won in Mira last year by Nikola Dryjakova, though she was pushed down to second place for the first Moto by Katarina Sepp on what otherwise would have been a clean sweep for Dryjakova. Sepp won the Runabout Juniors GP4 category she was also competing in last year, but this year will give her full attention to dethroning Dryjakova in the Runabout Ladies GP4 category.
All of last year’s winners will have their work cut out to repeat their wins, with over one hundred entries for Mira already registered, including multiple former World Champions as well as young talent hungry for their first taste of success. They will battle it out over three days of racing in the Barrinha de Mira on July 3-5, officially commencing this season’s European Championship.