News

Mira, Friday July 3rd - A total of 138 riders hailing from four continents are registered to compete across all categories of races at this weekend’s Grand Prix of Mira, the opening round of the 2026 UIM Aquabike European Continental Championship. This marks the highest number of riders Mira has ever seen and surpassing last year's 110 riders who competed in the Portuguese town, setting up one of the most competitive weekends of Aquabike racing yet.

Ski GP1, the highest class of racing in the category, has registered 30 riders for racing in Mira, above the UIM regulated limit of 22 riders per race. As a result, the Ski GP1 riders will be split into two randomly selected groups of 15 for qualifying, with the first nine of each group qualifying for Moto 1, and then the remaining riders facing another qualifying round from which the top four riders also qualify for the weekend’s Grand Prix.

Ski Ladies GP1 is set to be another competitive category, with a dozen riders registered, including current World Champion Estelle Poret and current European Champion Jessica Chavanne. Runabout GP1 has its own host of champions competing in Mira among the 13 riders registered for the category, including former World Champion Samuel Johansson and current European Champion Jeremy Perez, who dominated racing in Portugal at last year’s installment winning all three Motos.

The other categories are set to be just as competitive if not more so: 19 riders will face off in Runabout GP2, and Runabout GP4 sees 15 riders competing for glory. Runabout Ladies GP4 is not far behind with 13 registrations for Mira. In Ski GP2, 10 riders will challenge for a first win of the season. To guarantee more competitive races, Ski GP3 and Ski Junior GP3.3 have been combined into a single race, as have Ski GP4 and Ski GP4 Junior.

Freestyle will see four riders face off, though Mira already got a taste of Freestyle action yesterday courtesy of current World and European Champion Roberto Mariani, who performed one of his spectacular routines as riders and officials gathered for welcome drinks courtesy of the Municipality of Mira. Paulo Ferreira, President of FPM, shared his delight at the record-breaking number of riders present in Mira this year, with Aquabike Promotion CEO Raimondo di San Germano adding that the number of riders present was a testament to Mira’s excellent hosting of races over the last two seasons.

On-water action begins today (Friday 3 July) with qualification and free practice covering all categories taking place from 9am, and the first Moto 1 races of the Grand Prix taking place from 4.30pm for Ski GP3/Ski Junior GP3.3, Runabout GP4, Ski GP4/Ski GP4 Junior, and Runabout GP4 Ladies.