The podium winners at the Aquabike Grand Prix of Qatar with Qatar Marine Sports Federation officials at Corniche in Doha yesterday.
DOHA: Frenchman Cyrille Lemoine and Italy’s Alberto Monti claimed victories in their respective Runabout GP1 and Ski Division GP1 classes at the third UIM-ABP Aquabike Grand Prix of Qatar, which finished on Corniche yesterday.
Lemoine’s success capped a superb weekend for the St Tropez rider, who followed up a first heat success and a world title in the parallel slalom by Friday by confirming victory in the overall Runabout class in the Aquabike Grand Prix of Qatar. Italian Mattia Fracasso was second and Kuwait’s Mohamad Al Baz finished third.
“This was a fantastic weekend for me - a grand slam,” said a delighted Lemoine.
“I came here behind Youssef (Al Abdulrazzaq) in the championship and now it’s all in my hands for the last one in Abu Dhabi.”
A last gasp second position for Frenchman Mickael Poret in an exciting Ski Division GP1 race ensured that he closed the gap on Portugal’s Tiago Sousa over the two heats but the Portuguese earned the Aquabike Grand Prix of Qatar victory, courtesy of his extra single point earned on Doha Bay.
Alberto Monti sneaked through in the dying seconds to snatch the heat win after a disappointing race on Friday.
Slovenian supremo Rok Florjancic was a class of the Freestyle field and another maximum points haul was sufficient for this year’s unbeaten artist to stun the rest of the field in a thrilling Freestyle finale.
His performance was sufficient to claim the 2013 world championship title after brother Nac could finish no higher than third. He now holds a 51-point lead with only 50 available at the final round in Abu Dhabi.
The Maribor rider delivered an action-packed three-minute display of flips, spins, pirouettes, somersaults, helicopters and ghost riding to comfortably beat his brother Nac. Qatar’s Sultan Al Kuwari also produced an impressive performance to finish the second heat in a superb second position.
The event was being organised by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) in conjunction with H20 Racing and the UIM and attracted 45 racers from 15 countries.
The final round of the 2013 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on November 30 to December 1.the peninsula
