MEDIA INFORMATION
2023 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship
CAN ANYONE BREAK THE RECENT AL-MULLA/MARIANI STRANGLEHOLD ON FREESTYLE?
Monday, January 20: Not since the halcyon days of the Slovenian Florjancic brothers has the Freestyle discipline in the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship been so dominated by two riders.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla and Italian Roberto Mariani have been the dominant forces in the demanding and technical Freestyle discipline for several seasons, as they entertained the mesmerised crowds with their spectacular display of flips, spins, pirouettes, somersaults and on-water acrobatics. Often seen as the forgotten discipline in both the World and European Continental Championship calendars, Freestyle is the art form that brings the sport to the crowd in terms of showcasing a rider’s technical ability and stamina.
Back track to 2012 and the opening Grand Prix of the season on Doha Bay in Qatar, Rok Florjancic got the better of his brother Nac to win both Motos. He repeated the feat in Italy but missed the final Grand Prix of the season in China and his brother clinched the world title from Romain Stampers. Rok finished third with just four Motos under his belt and Mariani came home in fifth.
Rok got the better of his brother after a hectic 2013 season that saw the title decided over 10 Motos with the Slovenian remarkably winning all of them to tot up an incredible 250 points. Mariani only attended two Grand Prix and finished the season in 11th.
Rok was at it again the following year and eight successive Moto wins earned the Slovenian sensation a 200-point haul and yet another world title. Mariani claimed the bronze medal position behind Rok’s brother Nac.
Rok proved he was beatable in 2015: he won the world title with five Moto wins from eight but a new talent had emerged on the scene in the name of Rashid Al-Mulla. He tackled the last Grand Prix in Sharjah, won his opening Moto and finished the season in fifth with Mariani taking third again.
By 2016, Al-Mulla had become Rok’s main title rival and the Emirati finished a gruelling 10-Moto season just 24 points behind the Slovenian with Nac in third and Mariani finishing fourth. Al-Mulla won both Sharjah Motos at the end of the year.
Rok only competed in part of the 2017 calendar and that enabled his brother Nac to clinch the world title with Mariani edging out Al-Mulla for the silver medal spot in a year where Al-Mulla missed the opening two Grand Prix and then won the last six Motos. The changing of the guard was evident.
The Florjancic brothers didn’t appear in 2018 and that opened the door for Al-Mulla to win all seven Motos and claim his first world title with Paulo Nuñes holding off Mariani to take second place. Al-Mulla then won all nine Motos in 2019 to earn a maximum 225 points and beat Mariani to the title by 33 points.
Travel restrictions destroyed the racing calendar in 2020 and the world title was decided by the pre-lockdown Grand Prix in Kuwait with Al-Mulla triumphing again from Mariani.
Italy and Kuwait both staged Grand Prix in 2021 and Al-Mulla was again the dominant force to clinch the maximum 100 points and his fourth world title from Mariani. A fifth title and a maximum 100-point score came in 2022 but Mariani bucked the trend in 2023 and snatched the World Championship on a tie-breaker by winning the final Moto in Indonesia.
Last season, the duo were closely matched again and Al-Mulla earned a sixth title with five Moto wins from six to finish 12 points ahead of Mariani and well clear of Nuñes, Fadli Yassine and Massimo Accumolo. Mariani’s consolation was a dominant display in the European Continental Championship that saw him claim the European title with six Moto victories.
That sets the scene for the rematch in 2025 with Al-Mulla gunning for a seventh title and Mariani trying to prevent the Team Abu Dhabi train from building up a head of steam. Will there be new kids on the block in 2025? As the season approaches, these questions will be answered in the coming weeks but dramatic on-water Freestyle action and entertainment for the crowds is guaranteed nonetheless.
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