DOHA, QATAR – Qatar returns to the international sporting calendar after a 10-year absence to host the final round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship this weekend, October 30 – November 1.
Aquabike Promotion and the Doha Marine Sports Club (DMSC) stage the three-day Old Doha Port Grand Prix of Qatar on Doha Bay, the World Championship finale and the stand-alone Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship round.
The provisional entry lists 90 riders from 19 nations: 28 in Runabout GP1, 23 in Ski Division GP1, 13 in Ski Ladies GP1 and a remarkable 12 in Freestyle, plus 14 in the Asian Continental section.
Runabout GP1
François Medori arrives with a maximum 100 points from four straight Moto wins. The Corsican defends a 16-point lead over Jéremy Perez, while reigning champion Samuel Johansson remains third despite scoring just three points in the second Sardinia heat.
The 28-rider field includes Pierre-François Savelli, Robin Laforge, György Kasza, Andrzej Wisniewski, Martin Doulik and Linus Lindberg. Qatar is represented by Khalid Al-Mohannadi and Waleed Al-Sharshani, the UAE by Khalid Al-Maazmi, Khalifa Belsalah and Mohammed Mohsin, and five-time world champion Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq makes a dramatic return alongside fellow Kuwaitis Rashed Al-Dawas and Ahmad Al-Khadhari.
Ski Division GP1
Denmark’s Oliver Koch Hansen leads Jéremy Poret by 11 points. In Sardinia two weeks ago, Belgium’s Quinten Bossche won two of three Motos either side of a Mickael Poret victory. Reliability issues have hurt defending champion Bossche, whose three Moto wins have come alongside three non-finishes, leaving him sixth behind Koch Hansen, Jéremy Poret, Japan’s Toshi O’Hara, Mickael Poret and young Belgian Yoni Hamelin.
All contenders face former champion Kevin Reiterer, Anthony Beernaut, Morgan Poret, Benjamin Scharff and Axel Courtois, with Saudi Arabia’s Nizar Abuljadayel the only GCC entrant.
Ski Ladies GP1
Thirteen riders contest the three-Moto finale. Estelle Poret leads Benedicte Drange by seven points, with defending champion Jasmiin Ypraus one point further back. Naomi Benini and Virginie Morlaes share fourth, 35 points off the lead.
Drange has won four of six Motos but retired from the third in Indonesia. Poret has never missed the podium and won once, while Ypraus had a win and four podiums before engine trouble in Sardinia’s final Moto: her main ski failed to start and her misfiring back-up earned just 10 points – possibly the moment the title slipped away.
New European champion Jessica Chavanne, after a tough Sardinia weekend, joins Sofie and Jonna Borgström, Héloïse Delcluze, River Varner, Joana Graça, Janina Johansson and French newcomer Emy Garcia.
Freestyle
European champion and World Championship leader Roberto Mariani heads the 12-rider field, 10 points ahead of defending champion Rashid Al-Mulla of Abu Dhabi, with Massimo Accumolo three points further back and Portugal’s Paulo Nuñes fourth. Six Qataris – Abdulaziz Al-Abdullah, Nayef Al-Nama, Salem Al-Kubaisi, Issa Al-Assi, Abdulrahman Al-Sulaiti and Bader Al-Abdullah – ride in front of home fans, joined by Kuwait’s Aziz Al-Armeli and Saudi Arabia’s Nizar Abuljadayel.
Runabout GP2 Asian Continental
The field includes four Qatari riders, five from the UAE, four from Saudi Arabia and one from Kuwait. Mahmoud Abumaali, Khalaf Al-Kuwari, Waleed Al-Ibrahim and Waleed Al-Sharshani fly the Qatari flag, with Abdullah Al-Fadhel for Kuwait.
Schedule
Registration and scrutineering are on Wednesday. Thursday opens with Runabout GP2 free practice from 09:30, followed by almost two hours of practice for Ski Ladies GP1, Ski Division GP1, Runabout GP1 and Freestyle, with qualifying and pole sessions in the afternoon.
Friday starts at 10:00 with the first Runabout GP2 Moto, then the opening Ski Ladies GP1 and Ski Division GP1 Motos. Their second Motos run in the afternoon before Runabout GP1 and Freestyle’s first heats. The evening features a Parallel Slalom competition and a Freestyle night show in the Old Port area of the Doha Corniche.
Saturday begins with Qatar International Cup qualifying and a session for non-qualified Runabout GP2 riders, more free practice, and a Qatar International Cup Moto. The afternoon brings the third Runabout GP2 Moto and the deciding Ski Ladies GP1 and Ski GP1 Motos, before Runabout GP1 and Freestyle close the season with their second Motos.