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Balige, Lake Toba - Sunday August 17th - The remaining four Motos brought the Grand Prix of Indonesia to a close in dramatic fashion, as crashes and early retirements led to late drama in the overall rankings. Racing took place during a special day in Indonesia, which was celebrating 80 years of independence today, opening the day with a special performance in honour of the important occasion. The crowds in Balige, Lake Toba, were therefore even more enthused than usual as they cheered on the closing races of the weekend.
Heartbreak for Drange as crash costs her Ski Ladies Grand Prix
Benedicte Drange looked set to cruise to victory in Moto 3, having dominated the previous Motos and one both by a very comfortable margin. She was in pole position for the start, in front of rivals Jasmiin Ypraus, Estelle Poret, and Jessica Chavanne.
Both River Varner and Sofie Borgstrom returned to the starting line, despite each carrying minor injuries picked up during an incident in Moto 2 that saw Varner pick up a yellow card for dangerous driving.
An unexpectedly strong start from Chavanne saw her take the hole shot, with Poret and Ypraus shortly behind her.
Drange fell into the water after making contact with Ypraus on the first turn, getting up to try and continue the race before falling back in and requiring the help of the marshals, forcing an early end to what had been an exemplary Grand Prix until that point.
On the second lap, Poret was able to just edge out Chavanne on the splits to take the lead. World Champion Ypraus slotted into third, gaining on Chavanne as the riders entered the third lap.
Naomi Benini forced Ypraus to be wary of her rear, chasing the Estonian by just 3.15 seconds at the end of lap 4.
The fourth lap saw Chavanne tumble into the water, pushing her down into sixth place, and giving Poret some breathing space as she led the pack by 8.08 seconds.
Poret calmly led the way for the remainder of the race, winning by 4.92 seconds, with Ypraus coming in second. Benini got her first podium finish of the Grand Prix, finishing third.
Ypraus explained her tactics during the race: “I did the math while racing, so I knew I was safe staying in P2 – I didn’t want to push it too much”.
After a poor start, Varner was able to gradually work her way up the ranks, finishing the race in fourth place, in front of former race leader Chavanne, who ended up a disappointing fifth.
Virginie Morlaes, Joana Graca, Borgstrom, and Janina Johansson finished in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth respectively, whilst Drange finished the Moto pointless due to her early retirement, seeing her drop from her comfortable lead in the Grand Prix standings to fourth place.
Reigning World Champion Ypraus stayed true to winning form, claiming the Grand Prix of Indonesia title, with Poret finishing achingly close behind her by a single point. Benini completed the podium, securing third place in the Grand Prix.
Oliver Koch Hansen clinches Ski GP1 Grand Prix win
A great start to the final Moto of SKi GP1 from Jeremy Poret saw him take the hole shot, closely followed by Toshi Ohara and Oliver Kock Hansen, who were locked into a spectacular battle for second throughout the first lap.
Meanwhile tragedy struck again for Quinten Bossche, who retired during the first lap, being plagued by engine issues once again.
The exhilarating battle between Ohara and Oliver Kock Hansen was to end all too soon, as the Japanese rider joined Bossche in experiencing engine issues, forcing an early exit during the second lap for him too.
Relieved of the pressure from Ohara, Oliver Kock Hansen was able to concentrate on going on the attack, cutting down the gap between himself and race leader Jeremey Poret to just 0.84 seconds going into the fifth lap.
Poret maintained his lead during the splits, but Hansen’s aggression paid off as he took the Frenchmen on the inside following a few tightly fought turns, giving the Dane the lead.
Having started in last place due to his early retirement in Moto 2, Mickael Poret put up a spectacular display as he gradually edged his way up the pack, overtaking more than half the riders to move into seventh place by the seventh lap.
Once overtaken, Jeremy Poret proved unable to retake the lead, with Oliver Kock Hansen gradually increasing his advantage to finish 17.51 seconds ahead of his French rival. Yoni Hamelin put in a strong performance to see him finish third, guaranteeing the 16-year-old his first ever Grand Prix podium.
Behind him came Alex Barret, Anthony Beernaut, and Mickael Poret, who managed to finish in an impressive sixth place. Soshi Sato, Valentin Dardillat, Benjamin Scharff, and Ander Lauri completed the top 10.
They were followed by Maxence Russel, Felix Helgeson, Thomas Bento, Axel Courtois, and Mads Koch Hansen. Ohara and Bossche both failed to complete the Moto due to engine issues, whilst Martin Drange and Alec Enderli did not start.
Victory in Moto 3 saw Oliver Kock Hansen claim Grand Prix of Indonesia victory, coming out on top by 10 points.
“I feel amazing. We have worked so hard for this – we have been working full time the last three or five years … we do everything we can to make this possible” said the chuffed Dane of his win.
Jeremy Poret and Yoni Hamelin made up the rest of the podium.
Medori shows his class with another Runabout GP1 win
Samuel Johansson squeezed past the competition to claim the hole shot in Runabout GP1’s Moto 2, with Jeremy Perez coming second and Francois Medori very close behind him. Gyorgy Kasza delivered an incredible start as he came from a last place start to establish himself in fourth, whilst GP1 rookie Pierre Francois Savelli took fifth, with the top five already putting significant space between themselves and the rest of the pack by the second lap.
Medori was able to overtake fellow Frenchmen Perez in the second lap whilst Perez was distracted by trying to pass leader Johansson.
Following his pass into second, it took Medori just two laps to claim the top spot and push Johansson into second.
Linus Lindberg put in an impressive early performance as he pushed through the pack from the back, where he found himself due to a disqualification in Moto 1. By the seventh lap, Lindberg was hot on the heels of seventh place Andrzej Wisniewski, with just 1.66 seconds separating the two.
That excellent catch-up work by Lindberg was suddenly undone, however, as engine issues saw the Swede fall all the way to the back of the pack after eleven laps.
Once in the lead, Medori proved unstoppable, showboating as he crossed the line with a 4.22 second lead over second place Johansson. Perez was pushing Johansson throughout, ending just 3.42 seconds behind the Swede to come third, meaning the top three of Moto 2 ended up identical to Moto 1.
As such, the Grand Prix podium followed the race order, with Medori collecting yet another Grand Prix victory, Johansson beside him in second, and Perez in third.
“I’m really happy because last year I always won Moto 1 and Samuel [Johansson] Moto 2, so I never won the race, and this time I won Moto 1 and Moto 2” said a smiling Medori.
Kasza and Savelli maintained their fourth and fifth positions throughout the race, completing a lap more than the rest of the following riders.
Wisniewski, Juan Cruz Lezcano, Lindberg, Tory Snyder, and Ruben Jimenez made up the rest of the top ten. They were followed by Guillaume Hemain, J-B Baldassari, Mario Lamy, and Egidijus Kirilevicius. Martin Doulik failed to finish, whilst Khalid Al Maazmi, Jay Finlinson, Robin Laforge, and Rasmus Koch Hansen did not start.
Mariani back on top form with Freestyle win
The third ever Aquabike Grand Prix of Indonesia closed in acrobatic fashion with a showboating spectacle as four riders pleased the crowds with their flying stunts.
Paulo Nunes opened the show with a characteristic routine of flips, 360s, and a fountain to finish off, earning him 117 points from the judges.
Following Nunes was current Freestyle World Champion Rashid Al Mulla, who suffered issues with his own bike, so had to borrow one of Nunes’ to complete the Moto. Using the unfamiliar bike meant Al Mulla was unable to match his usual high standards. He finished the round in third place with 173 points.
Italian Massimo Accumulo was next to wow the crowds with a routine full of flares, with his flips achieving much more altitude than in previous years. Choppy water added an extra dimension to the competition, thwarting Accumulo on certain occasions as he fell from the bike, whilst providing a useful boost when the natural waves provided that extra push for the Italian. The judges awarded him a strong 187 points, securing a second place Grand Prix finish for the Italian.
Having topped the Moto 1 rankings yesterday, current European Champion Roberto Mariani was the last to take to the water, hoping a strong performance would guarantee him Grand Prix victory and put him in a strong position for the 2025 Championship ahead of arch-rival Al Mulla.
Mariani put together a highly ambitious routine, with the conditions making it difficult for the Italian showboater to complete his most audacious stunts. The routine gained him 196 points, enough to clinch Grand Prix victory alongside his win in Moto 1.