DOHA: Qatar returns to the 2025 sporting calendar to host the final round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship this weekend.
Aquabike Promotion and the Doha Marine Sports Club (DMSC) will host the three-day event at Old Doha Port Grand Prix of Qatar on Doha Bay. The event will act as the final round of the World Championship and the stand-alone Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship.
The provisional entry features 90 riders from 19 nations, with 28 competing in Runabout GP1, 23 in Ski Division GP1, 13 in Ski Ladies GP1 and a staggering 12 in Freestyle. In addition, 14 will compete in the Asian Continental section of the weekend.
François Medori heads to Doha with a maximum 100 points for winning four successive Runabout GP1 Motos. The Corsican will be aiming to defend a 16-point advantage over Jeremy Perez, with current World Champion Samuel Johansson somehow retaining third in the rankings, despite picking up just three points from the second of the recent heats in Sardinia.
All the major protagonists are among the 28-rider field and they include Pierre-François Savelli, Robin Laforge, György Kasza, Andrzej Wisniewski, Martin Doulik and Linus Lindberg. The host nation will be represented by Khalid Al-Mohannadi and Waleed Al-Sharshani and the Emirati trio of Khalid Al-Maazmi, Khalifa Belsalah and Mohammed Mohsin boost the regional entry.
The Qatar event also sees the dramatic return of five-time world champion Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq and fellow Kuwaiti riders, Rashed Al-Dawas and Ahmad Al-Khadhari.
Dane Oliver Koch Hansen arrives in Doha with an 11-point lead over Jéremy Poret in the battle for the Ski Division GP1 world title. The leading racers on the planet battled it out in three gripping Motos in Sardinia two weeks ago with a pair of victories for Belgian Quinten Bossche sandwiching a lone win for Mickael Poret.
Reliability issues have plagued defending champion Bossche this season, however, and three Moto wins have been coupled with three non-finishes. That was left the Ostende racer languishing in sixth in the standings behind Koch Hansen, Jéremy Poret, Japan’s Toshi O’Hara, Mickael Poret and young Belgian Yoni Hamelin.
All of the title contenders will be present in Doha where they line up against the likes of former champion Kevin Reiterer, Anthony Beernaut, Morgan Poret, Benjamin Scharff and Axel Courtois. Nizar Abuljadayel represents the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is the only GCC entrant in the field.
The fight for honors in Ski Ladies GP1 promises to be a classic and 13 riders are making the trip to Qatar for the three-Moto finale. Estelle Poret has a seven-point cushion over Benedicte Drange with defending champion Jasmiin Ypraus a further point adrift in third. Naomi Benini and Virginie Morlaes are tied for fourth, albeit 35 points behind the leading French girl.
Drange has taken four wins from six Motos but suffering a costly retirement from the third Moto in Indonesia. Poret has never been off the podium and won one heat, while Ypraus had a win and four podium finishes before engine issues plagued her before the last of the Motos in Sardinia.
The Estonian’s No. 1 ski failed to start and she was forced to turn to her back-up machine which misfired its way around the course to pick up just 10 points. Could that have been the moment when Ypraus lost the world title?
Jessica Chavanne suffered a miserable weekend in Sardinia and the new European champion will be hoping for better fortune on Doha Bay, where she lines up alongside the likes of Sofie and Jonna Borgström, Héloïse Delcluze, River Varner, Joana Graça, Janina Johansson and French newcomer Emy Garcia.
The Freestyle category has attracted 12 entrants, although the defending European champion and current World Championship leader Roberto Mariani tops the field from defending champion and title rival Rashid Al-Mulla from Abu Dhabi. The pair are separated by 10 points heading into the final two Motos of the season with Massimo Accumolo three points further behind in the bronze medal position. Portugal’s Paulo Nuñes is fourth.
There are six Qatari entrants in the provisional field: Abdulaziz Al-Abdullah, Nayef Al-Nama, Salem Al-Kubaisi, Issa Al-Assi, Abdulrahman Al-Sulaiti and Bader Al-Abdullah will be hoping for success in front of home crowds. They will be joined by Kuwait’s Aziz Al-Armeli and Saudi Arabia’s Nizar Abuljadayel.
Four of the Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship entrants will represent Qatar, with five from the UAE, four from Saudi Arabia and one from Kuwait. Mahmoud Abumaali, Khalaf Al-Kuwari, Waleed Al-Ibrahim and Waleed Al-Sharshani will fly the Qatari flag with Abdullah Al-Fadhel lining up for Kuwait.
Registration and scrutineering formalities take place on Wednesday. A hectic Thursday timetable sees the free practice sessions for the Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship fire into life from 09.30hrs and precede nearly two hours of practice for the Ski Ladies GP1, Ski Division GP1, Runabout GP1 and Freestyle competitors. The afternoon is dominated by the various qualifying and pole position sessions.
The first Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship Moto kickstarts Friday’s action from 10 a.m. and is followed by opening Motos for Ski Ladies GP1 and Ski Division GP1. The second of the Motos follow in the afternoon before the Runabout GP1 and Freestyle contenders take part in their first heats.
The evening’s action will be rounded off by a Parallel Slalom competition and a Freestyle night show to entertain spectators in the Old Port area on Doha Corniche.
Qualifying for the Qatar International Cup and a session for non-qualified Runabout GP2 riders opens Saturday morning’s action. Further free practice follows before a Moto for the Qatar International Cup to round off the morning.
The third Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship Moto is first on the agenda in the afternoon and precedes the final Ski Ladies GP1 and Ski GP1 Motos that will decide the outcome of the World Championship.
Runabout GP1 and Freestyle contenders then take to the water for their second Motos that will draw a curtain on the season’s UIM-ABP Aquabike Circuit Pro World Championship.
