MEDIA INFORMATION
2025 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship
CAN ANYONE STOP THE FRENCH DOMINATION OF AQUABIKE ENDURANCE RACING?
Friday, January 31: French riders have lifted all three UIM-ABP Endurance titles since the start of the 2023 season.
Veteran Jean Bruno Pastorello claimed an emphatic World Championship title at the inaugural three-day race meeting in November 2023 and François Medori followed up his European Endurance title last summer in Vichy with a stunning World Championship performance on the mysterious waters of giant volcanic Lake Toba last November to seal another title.
The 2023 World Championship was fought out over three days and a pair of 35-minute races per day from three starting points on Lake Toba. Riders competing for the Karo Cup on day one and the Dairi and Samosir Cups on days two and three. Additional points were also allocated by race officials for transfers between the base venue at Pangururan on Samosir Island each day.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Tayer won the opening Moto but Pastorello edged away from his rivals in Moto 2 to seal the Karo Cup. Kuwaiti racer Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq came out on top in a thrilling heat one for the Dairi Cup, but Pastorello nipped in front of Rashed Al-Dawas to snatch Dairi Cup success as well.
Budapest-based gym owner Gyorgy Kasza led the opening Samosir Cup Moto from start-to-finish and then secured the Samosir Cup with victory in Moto 2. Al-Dawas had his chance to upset Pastorello in the final heat but the Kuwaiti student hit late trouble and Pastorello put a sheared propeller in the morning behind him to claim the world title.
The 2024 World Endurance Championship was fought out over a similar three-day format and six Motos on Lake Toba. Medori was the clear favourite to win the opening Karo Cup Moto but he pulled out on lap nine and Spaniard Ruben Jimenez Riquelme passed Portugal’s long-time leader Lino Araújo late on to claim the heat win. Medori hit back strongly to win the second Moto but Araújo did enough to seal Karo Cup success.
Medori then earned two thrilling Moto victories to seal Dairi Cup glory in Silalahi. He stayed clear of American veteran Anthony Radetic in the opener and close friend and team-mate Teddy Pons in the second one to also move to the top of the points’ standings.
The Frenchman clinched the world title at the Simalungun Cup on day three, although Isahei Hajime topped the standings for the final day and earned Simalungun Cup success. Medori won heat one and finished third in the last Moto to finish the campaign 11 points clear of runner-up Radetic. Hajime took the bronze medal.
Last summer’s UIM-ABP European Continental Endurance Championship was fought out over five Motos on the Allier River in France. Medori was beaten to the win by Araújo in the opener but then the Corsican pharmacist dominated the next four heats to seal the European title by a flattering 25 points from Jimenez Riquelme. Frenchman Alex Barret was a distant third.
A new season beckons and riders eagerly await the final calendar. But it would be a brave man to bet against Medori continuing his winning streak and earning yet another international Endurance title.
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