MEDIA INFORMATION
2024 UIM-ABP European Continental Aquabike Championship
MOTO 2 SUCCESS FOR DRYJAK, YPRAUS, MORGAN PORET AND KASZA; JAKOPANEC, KOPPAS, HAMELIN AND BRAMM EARN GRAND PRIX WINS
Sunday, July 21: Frenchman Pierre-François Savelli, Estonia’s Jasmiin Ypraus, France’s Morgan Poret and Hungary’s György Kasza secured valuable Moto 2 wins in the Runabout GP2, Ski Ladies GP1, Ski GP1 and Runabout GP1 categories on the final morning of the Grand Prix of Hungary, near Győr.
Meanwhile, four of the Grand Prix titles were also decided during the morning session with riders in Ski GP3, Runabout GP4, Ski GP4 and Runabout GP4 Ladies wrapping up their Hungarian challenges. Croatian rider Dorian Jakopanec, Estonia’s Henri Koppas, Belgium’s Yoni Hamelin and French girl Cyrielle Bramm prevailed in their respective categories.
Savelli pips Dryjak to Runabout GP2 Moto 2 honours
Petr Dryjak started on pole for Moto 2 from local rider Levente Kacor and Frenchman Pierre-François Savelli. The Czech made the better start and began to edge clear of his rivals through the opening laps with Savelli holding second, Alexis Mihalcea of Romania moving up to third and Belgian Tom Claerhout and Sweden’s Janina Johansson running inside the top five.
Dryjak continued to lead the Moto after nine laps but was passed by Savelli within sight of the finish and the Frenchman was able to eke out an eventual 6.31-second victory. Dryjak finished second and Mihalcea, Claerhout, Johansson and Kacor rounded off the top six. Justin Patzner was penalised a lap for missing the hole shot and slipped to 12th.
Rashed Al-Dawas, Khalid Al-Maazmi and Agnes Albert were non-starters and Daniel Lasselberger and Michele Marras failed to finish.
Rampant Ypraus storms to Moto 2 win in Ski Ladies GP1
Jasmiin Ypraus had dominated qualifying and Moto 1 in the Ski Ladies GP1 category and she continued where she had left off in Moto 2 to lead through the opening laps from Norwegian rival Benedicte Drange, Sofie Borgström. Virginie Morlaes, Naomi Benini, Joana Graça, and Janina Johansson.
As the Moto progressed, the current World Championship leader pulled away from her six rivals and reached the chequered flag 19.55 seconds up on Drange. The procession continued behind with Borgström claiming third place from Morlaes, Graça, Benini and Johansson.
Ypraus said: “The second Moto is done and I felt way better than yesterday. I got a good speed and a good gap for the bijou (GP win) so I am happy and excited for the last Moto.”
Second successive Ski GP1 Moto victory for Morgan Poret
Morgan Poret had narrowly beaten Kevin Reiterer to Moto 1 success in Ski GP1 and the Frenchman lined up ahead of the Austrian, Mickaël Poret and Oliver Koch Hansen Koch Hansen. After his start infringement in Moto 1, Australia’s Jayden Richardson was down in 13th.
Morgan Poret made a strong start and maintained a slight advantage over Valentin Dardillat, Reiterer and a flying Richardson, who stormed through the field to snatch fourth from Axel Courtois and Mickaël Poret. The top six held their positions into lap six and Morgan Poret headed into the remaining five minutes of the Moto with in excess of a five-second lead. Oliver Koch Hansen was languishing down in 11th position.
Morgan Poret held on to take his second Moto win of the weekend by 10.85 seconds from Dardillat, Richardson, Courtois and Mickaël Poret and is in a strong position to wrap up Grand Prix success in the afternoon’s remaining Moto after Reiterer hit late trouble and retired. Lukas Binar and Barnabas Szabo finished sixth and seventh out of the 22 riders who took the start.
Dag Martin Drange, Oliver Koch Hansen and Marc Hassner joined Reiterer on the list of riders who failed to finish.
Morgan Poret said: “I am very happy for this race. I made a good start. There were many accidents but I stayed focused on my race and I was very happy to see Valentin behind me. He is a friend so I m very happy for him.”
Runabout GP1 Moto 2 win for Hungary’s György Kasza
Hungary’s György Kasza pipped World Championship leader Samuel Johansson to a narrow win in Moto 1 and lined up alongside the Swede for the start of Moto 2 with Levente Kacor, Lino Araújo and Linus Lindberg in close attention.
But Johansson stole a march on Kasza from the get-go and edged into a slender lead from the Hungarian, Andrzej Wisniewski, Ruben Jimenez Riquelme and Zsolt Cseke. But it was not destined to be Johansson’s weekend and the flying Swede was sidelined after just three laps and his demise gifted the race lead to Kasza. The local star began to storm away from Wisniewski, Jimenez Riquelme, Cseke and Araújo and led by 22.06 seconds after five laps.
A disappointed Johansson said: “Unlucky for us in the second Moto. I took the hole shot and was holding the lead but on the third lap I could feel some vibrations and it started to give way. Let’s hope we can get it sorted for the final Moto and come out again.”
With the pressure off, Kasza was able to cruise to the finish to win the Moto by 22.70 seconds and put himself as the clear favourite to secure the Grand Prix title in the afternoon. Wisniewski and Cseke rounded off the podium places and Levente Kacor, Araújo and Jimenez Riquelme finished fourth, fifth and sixth. Krisztian Panyi-Horvath was a non-starter.
Wisniewski was later disqualified for encroaching on an alternate course and the Pole’s demise lifted Czeke and Cacor into second and third places, Araújo into fourth and Jimenez Riquelme and Martin Doulik Junior into fifth and sixth.
Kasza said: “We have a nice weather today, 30 degrees and sunny and not bad weather like Saturday and much more spectators. I was second after the hole shot and tried to catch Samuel and then he had a problem with his drive shaft and our fight was finished. Let’s see for Moto 3, maybe a big fight.”
Ski GP3 Grand Prix triumph for Dorian Jakopanec
Dorian Jakopanec headed into the third of the Ski GP3 Motos with a 12-point lead over Yoni Hamelin, although Markus Erlach, Barnabas Szabo and Loris Lambert were still in contention for the Grand Prix win if the Croatian winner of the opening two Motos hit trouble in the final heat.
But Jakopanec made a strong start to the Moto and led from Lambert, Erlach, Hamelin, Szabo and Andrea Bergamo through lap one. Hamelin managed to pass Erlach and gained third place and then Szabo passed his fellow Hungarian as well and moved into third after Lambert slipped out on contention.
There was no stopping Jakopanec, however, and the Croatian secured a third successive Moto win by 5.74 seconds to seal Grand Prix honours with a maximum 75-point haul. Hamelin finished second and claimed the runner-up spot in the Grand Prix and Szabo rounded off the podium places with Erlach, Manuel Leite and Gergo Simon finishing the Moto in fourth, fifth and sixth.
Runabout GP4 glory for Estonia’s Henri Koppas
Petr Dryjak and Henri Koppas headed into their Runabout GP4 Moto 3 showdown tied on 47 points apiece after a win and a second place each. Juliusz Roman and Ibiza-based Spaniard Alejandro Prats Palau were tied for third place, nine points adrift of the leading duo.
Koppas had the slight advantage of pole position for the last of the Motos and he made a strong start to lead from Prats Palau, Roman and Dryjak through the opening turn buoys. Dryjak managed to pass Roman and moved into third but the Czech was not abled to make in-roads into Koppas’s lead and the Estonian held on to take the chequered flag and the Grand Prix win. His margin of victory over Prats Palau was 7.88 seconds, while Dryjak sealed the runner-up spot in the Grand Prix with third and Prats Palau claimed the final podium place in the overall rankings.
In the final Moto, Roman and Nicole Cadei were fourth and fifth but Stefan Salath, Sebastian Davidescu and Mateusz Hepner failed to start.
Grand Prix success in Ski GP4 for Yoni Hamelin
Young Estonian Ander-Hubert Lauri and Belgian rival Yoni Hamelin lined up at the start of the final Ski GP4 Moto tied on 47 points apiece with Jennifer Poret their closest rival on 40. Daniils Potrivailo, Grantas Gurksnys and Christina Mahringer still had mathematical chances of snatching the Grand Prix win.
The leading duo became embroiled in a fascinating tussle for supremacy and Hamelin held the edge over his rival, although they were separated by just 2.04 seconds after six laps. Poret, Gurksnys, Potrivailo and Mahringer were running some distance behind the leaders as the Moto entered its final stages. Lauri reduced the gap to just 1.74 seconds after eight laps but Hamelin held his nerve to snatch a narrow 1.32-second win to claim Grand Prix victory after a memorable duel.
Poret, Gurksnys, Potrivailo and Mahringer finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth with the French girl confirming third place in the Grand Prix as a result.
Runabout GP4 Ladies GP win for Bramm; Moto 3 success for Urlo
Cyrielle Bramm headed into the final Runabout GP4 Moto with a six-point cushion over Ilaria Vanni with Arianna Urlo a further four points adrift in third. The French girl started well and stayed ahead of Vanni and Urlo through the opening turn buoys and headed into lap two in second place in the unofficial results behind Volia Dzikovich of Montenegro.
The leaders held their positions through four laps and Bramm settled in behind Dzikovich, safe in the knowledge that the Grand Prix was hers if the positions remained the same. Bramm was passed before the chequered flag by Urlo but did enough to seal GP glory. Urlo also managed to pass Dzikovich near the finish to claim a 7.33-second victory and deprive the Montenegrin of a heat win. Vanni hit trouble in the closing stages and Nicole Cadei, Nikola Dryjakova and Markéta Hollerová rounded off the top six with Mercédesz Cseke in seventh and Vanni coming home in eighth.
Dzikovich was later penalised for cutting the course and slipped back to 11th, her demise lifting Bramm into second and Cadei into third.
The remaining Moto 3 heats and Freestyle Moto 2 will take place on Sunday afternoon.
Ends
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