‘
MEDIA INFORMATION
2023 UIM-ABP Aquabike European Continental Championship
GRAND PRIX WINS FOR ROMAN, DRYJAKOVA, KETE, JACOPANEC, MÖLTER,
GUIDI, SENDA, COURTOIS, CHAVANNE AND KASZA IN HUNGARY
Sunday, June 25: Juliusz Roman, Nikola Dryjakova, Leo Kete, Dorijan Jakopanec, Arti Mölter, Andrea Guidi, Marcin Senda, Axel Courtois, Jessica Chavanne and György Kasza secured Grand Prix of Hungary victories in their respective classes in Nyíregyháza-Levelek on Sunday afternoon.
Poland’s Juliusz Roman and Ibiza-based Alex Prats Palau were locked in a frantic tussle for success in the last of the Runabout GP4 heats. Roman managed to fend off his rival to snatch the 10-lap Moto win by just 0.68 seconds and confirm victory in the Grand Prix. Prats Palau claimed the runner-up spot in the Grand Prix and beat Czech Petr Dryjak by just two points. Marek Laanisto and Igor Tycel finished fourth and fifth in the last of the races.
Nikola Dryjakova initially held off the challenge from Markéta Hollerová and Annemarie Randla in Moto 3 in a bid to claim the Runabout GP4 Ladies Grand Prix win. But she was overhauled by her closest rival on the final lap and Hollerová snatched the win by 1.50 seconds to confirm a Czech 1-2 finish. Amanada Karasek, Volia Dzikovich and Carmen Roosmaa finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the final heat that attracted eight starters.
But the heat-winning Hollerová was later docked one lap for not holding her position during a stint of the yellow flag and she plummeted to sixth, with Dryjakova being handed back the heat win from Randla, Karasek, Dzikovich and Roosmaa. Dryjakova duly finished the three Motos with a 13-point cushion over Randla with Karasek claiming the last spot on the podium, despite tying on points with Hollerová.
Leo Kete and Dorijan Jakopanec headed into the third of the Ski Junior GP3.2 and GP3.3 World Championship heats with the leads in their respective categories. A finish would be sufficient for Kete to seal the GP3.2 win after Marvin Bohuslav’s Moto 1 retirement.
Hubert Ander-Lauri made the early running and the Estonian continued to fend off the early challenge from Jakopanec and Lajos Komonyi. He reached the chequered flag 1.27 seconds clear of Jakopanec, but the Croatian had done enough to win the Grand Prix by three points. Lauri and Dane Frederik Frandsen rounded off the places on the final podium. Third in the final eight-lap Moto went to Zeko Puskás after fellow Hungarian Komonyi slipped down the leader board as the race progressed to eventually finish eighth.
Bohuslav pipped Kete to the GP3.2 Moto win but that retirement on Saturday meant that Kete won the category overall on his home race in Hungary by 19 points.
Igor Tycel headed into the last of the Runabout GP4 Junior Motos with a two-point cushion over Ukraine’s Volodymyr Kaliuzhnyi and a five-point lead over Arti Mölter. It was Mölter, however, who made the best start and the Estonian began to pull clear of his rivals through the opening laps. He held on to reach the finish of the eight-lap race 5.89 seconds clear of Kaliuzhnyi with Tycel in third.
The result meant that all three riders were tied after a third Moto where Karl Keskula and Grantas Gurksnys rounded off the top five on their Seadoos. That meant the Grand Prix win went to Mölter with Kaliuzhnyi and Tycel in second and third.
Andrea Guidi headed into the last of the Ski Division GP2 heats with a six-point lead over Csongor Jászai and as clear favourite to win the Grand Prix. The Italian stated his claim from the outset and continued to edge clear of his Hungarian pursuer and third-placed Manuel Leite to eventually win the race by 3.67 seconds and seal Grand Prix success by 11 points from Jászai. Marlon Tiik and Jerry Olin were fourth and fifth in the heat, with Tiik claiming third overall in the GP.
Marcin Senda took a six-point advantage over Mattias Siimann into the last of the Runabout GP2 Motos. The Pole edged into an early lead but his closest challenger was Alexis Mihalcea with Siimann in third and Levente Kacor and Justin Patzner completing the top five of the 11 starters.
Mihalcea’s form was short-lived, however, and the Romanian slipped behind Siimann and into third with Kacor, Jaciauskas Mindaugas and Patzner running in the top six. Senda held on to seal the Moto 3 win by 2.62 seconds and the Grand Prix, while Siimann wrapped up second place and Patzner finished on the podium after crossing the finish line of Moto 3 in fifth after he’d overtaken a slowing Kacor during the race. The German was later promoted to fourth when Mindaugas was docked a lap for missing a turn buoy and that pushed the Lithuanian down to ninth.
Axel Courtois lined up for Moto 3 in the Ski Division GP1 category with a 10-point cushion over a tying Barnabás Szabó and Oliver Koch Hansen. With Koch Hansen not starting the heat, Courtois managed to move clear of Szabó through the opening laps, as Andrea Guidi and Marlon Tiik settled into third and fourth.
The Frenchman held on to reach the chequered flag 11.11 seconds ahead of his Hungarian rival to confirm the GP win by 13 points from Szabó. Tiik rounded off the final podium after an 11-lap heat where Andrea Guidi came home in third of the seven starters.
Six points separated Jessica Chavanne and Yasmiin Ypraus at the start of the third Ski GP1 Ladies Moto. But Ypraus made the perfect start and moved ahead of Virginie Morlaes and Chavanne through the first laps. Third would still be sufficient for Chavanne to seal Grand Prix success and the Kommander rider shadowed Ypraus’s and Morlaes’s Kawasakis for much of the race with the Estonian eventually winning by 9.33 seconds.
Chavanne did actually find a way to overtake Morlaes late on and finished second. The result gave the French girl the Grand Prix win by three points from Ypraus with Morlaes in third and Joana Graca finishing a close fourth.
The last of the weekend’s Motos was the showdown to decide the outcome of Runabout GP1. Hungarian György Kasza lined up with a six-point cushion over Martin Doulik Junior. It was the Czech who made the better start though and he led Mattias Siimann and Kasza through the first three laps.
Safe in the knowledge that third would be sufficient to claim the Grand Prix win on the 16-lap race, Kasza stayed out of trouble as Doulik Junior remained out in front with Attila Kéri running in fourth. Andrzej Wisniewski and Martin Doulik were non-starters.
Doulik Junior was not able to claim the laurels, however, and was passed by both Siimann and Kasza towards the end of the race. The result meant that Kasza won the season’s opener by seven points, the Moto 3-winning Siimann snatched second and Doulik Junior rounded off the podium finishers.
Ends
For further media information and information: www.aquabike.net