Chavanne and Team Abu Dhabi’s Mulla shine in Grand Prix of Italy

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Defending World Champion Jessica Chavanne, Belgian Quinten Bossche, Estonian Mattias Siimann and Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla secured Grand Prix victories in the Ski Ladies GP1, Ski Division GP1, Runabout GP1 and Freestyle categories in difficult conditions at the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy in Olbia.

Moto 3 victories fell to Estonia’s Jasmiin Ypraus, Bossche with Sweden’s Samuel Johansson and Al-Mulla taking Moto 2 wins in their respective ski divisions.

Ypraus led from start-to-finish to win Moto 3 in the Ski Ladies GP1 but third place behind Benedicte Drange was enough for Chavanne to win the Grand Prix from French rival Estelle Poret. As far as the World Championship is concerned - after six Motos in Vietnam and Sardinia – Ypraus holds a single-point lead over Poret to take November's showdown in Indonesia. Chavanne is 12 points behind in third.

Chavanne said: “I am so happy. I didn’t expect this from this race because my ski is new. It was hard because the girls have improved a lot. Six or seven of the girls are really at a high level. I had some good battles.”

Quinten Bossche delivered his third successive Ski Division GP1 Moto win to claim the GP win in Sardinia from Austrian rival Kevin Reiterer and Morgan Poret. The Belgian’s weekend performances mean that the Belgian will take a 24-point lead over Reiterer to the World Championship showdown on Lake Toba in November. He has now won six successive Motos in Vietnam and Italy.

Bossche said: “I think that was another perfect score this weekend with the qualifier, all three heats and the hole shot and we led from the start to the end. I am really happy for my team. I am not always happy with myself but it was amazing. It was nicer out there today actually and a bit better on my back and my arms. I had to do the qualifier on Friday because I didn’t have the full contract and I did a lot of laps this weekend in very rough conditions. My body is tired.”

Sweden’s Samuel Johansson led the final Runabout GP1 Moto from start-to-finish but it was not enough to stop the impressive Estonian racer Mattias Siimann from securing the Grand Prix win. French defending World Champion François Medori rounded off the weekend’s podium but Johansson’s consolation for missing out on the Grand Prix win was a three-point lead over Medori in the World Championship standings.

Grand Prix winner Siimann said: “There were not so many waves but I was more tired today. For me, it was harder today but I had a great result so I can be happy. I was saving my ski and I was so tired. I didn’t want to take any risks because I already knew that I would be first (by finishing second in Moto 3).”

Team Abu Dhabi’s Mulla had dominated the first of the Freestyle Motos with a polished array of back flips, barrel-rolls, transitions, spins, combinations and somersaults and the Emirati followed up his performance on Saturday night with another stunning display, including two near-successful double back flips, to earn a resounding Grand Prix win and the outright lead in the World Championship. Defending World Champion Roberto Mariani earned second place and Massimo Accumolo was third.

Belgian Yoni Hamelin, Estonian racers Mattias Reinass and Karl Keskula, French girl Cyrielle Bramm and Siimann earned World Championship and Grand Prix victories in their respective Ski GP3, Ski GP4, Runabout GP4, Runabout GP4 Ladies and Runabout GP2 categories. Reinass also claimed the Ski GP2 title.

Victories in the third of the weekend’s Motos at the Sardinian round of the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro World Championship fell to Hamelin, Reinass, Ibiza-based Spaniard Alejandro Prats-Palau, Bramm, Hungarian Csongor Jaszai and Siimann in the respective categories.