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Saturday, May 31: A frantic Saturday afternoon continued at the Grand Prix of Poland on Jeziorskomeer and saw racers compete in the second of the Ski GP3, Runabout GP4, Ski GP4, Runabout GP4 Ladies, Ski Juniors GP3.3, Runabout GP4 Juniors, Runabout Veterans GP1 and Ski GP2 Motos.
The rescheduled opening Ski Division GP1 and the first of the Freestyle Motos rounded off the action. Victories in the second of the Motos went to Dorijan Jakopanec, Juliusz Roman, Mathys Mezière, Nikola Dryjakova, Leo Kete, Rihard Leinsalu, Adam Wasilewski and Mattias Reinass. Frenchman Mickaël Poret won the first of the Ski Division GP1 heats.
Jakopanec wins second Ski GP3 Moto
Hungary’s Csongor Jaszai had managed to fend off a fierce challenge from Loris Lambert to win the opening Ski GP3 but Dorijan Jakopanec snatched the advantage in the second of the Motos.
The Croatian managed to hold on and claim the win, although Jaszai looked set to maintain his Grand Prix with second place until he was handed a 15-second penalty for not maintaining his lane. Michael van Reybroeck climbed to second ahead of the Hungarian with, Alexandre Bourgeois and Loris Lambert rounding off the top five. Jakopanec and Jaszai are now tied on 45 points apiece with van Reybroeck and Lambert on 38 each.
Roman railroads his rivals to win second Runabout GP4 Moto
Alejandro Prats Palau had won Moto 1 from pole position in the Runabout GP4 category but Juliusz Roman grabbed the lead in Moto 2 from Henri Koppas, Prats Palau, Grantas Gurkšnys and Erikas Butkus.
The Pole maintained his lead to the chequered flag to win the heat by just over nine seconds from Koppas with Butkus climbing to third ahead of Gurkšnys. Lithuania’s Karol Puzelevic finished in fifth ahead of Prats Palau and Dieter Aerts of Belgium. Arti Mölter was handed a 25-second penalty for not maintaining his lane and finished ninth. A two-lap penalty proved expensive for Croatian Jurica Marovič.
Roman and Prats Palau are now tied on 47 points apiece in the race for the Grand Prix win. Gurkšnys and Butkus have 38 points.
Mathys Mezière makes it two-from-two in Ski GP4
Mathys Mezière had claimed an emphatic win in the first of the Ski GP4 Motos and the Frenchman maintained his perfect start to the season with a much tighter victory in the second of the heats. He finished just over two seconds in front of Lithuania’s Grantas
Gurkšnys with fellow Frenchman Lucas Mouchotte and Latvia’s Daniils Potrivailo rounding off the classified finishers.
Mezière takes the perfect 50-point score into the final Moto with Gurkšnys and Mouchotte tied on 42.
Runabout Ladies GP4 win number two for Dryjakova
Former European Champion Nikola Dryjakova continued her run of excellent form with a hard-fought victory in the second of the Runabout Ladies GP4 Motos. The Czech reached the chequered flag just under four seconds ahead of Ester Rosin of Estonian with Kätriin Nilbe rounding off the podium places.
Katarina Sepp did not start the race but 12 riders did reach the start and Markéta Hollerová and Nicole Cadei rounded off the trop five. Alizée Vanden-Blecke brought up the rear of the field after picking up a 25-second penalty for lane indiscipline. Lithuania’s Astra Gurkšnytė finished ninth behind Aurora Filiberti, Carmen Roosmaa and Ilaria Vanni.
Dryjakova has the maximum 50 points to take into Moto 3 with Rosin in second on 42 and Roosmaa in third on 36.
Kete maintains his Ski Juniors GP3.3 form
Hungary’s Leo Kete made it two Junior GP3.3 wins on the bounce with a comfortable demolition of his rivals in the second Moto. He finished over six seconds ahead of fellow countryman Marvin Bohuslav. The two riders were the class of the field: Norway’s Adrian Kristoffersen and young Frenchman Maxime Arthebise finished in a distant third and fourth places.
Kete (50 points) takes a lead of six points over Bohuslav into the final Moto.
Second successive Runabout Junior GP4 win for Leinsalu
Estonian’s Rihard Leinsalu has shown an impressive turn of speed this weekend and that was rewarded with victory in the second of the Runabout Junior GP4 Motos by just over four seconds. His closest rival was Aurora Filiberti of Italy and Lithuania’s Adas Zalagaitis rounded off the podium finishers.
Five of the six entrants took the start (Katarina Sepp was a non-starter) and Ayrton Cecere and Kimily Lepp were the other two finishers. Cecere was docked 25 seconds for a jump start and Lepp was handed a one-lap penalty for missing a turn buoy.
Leinsalu (50 points) has an eight-point cushion over Zalagaitis to take into the final Moto on Sunday. Filiberti is two points further behind in third.
Wasilewski takes the win in Runabout Veterans GP1 Moto 2
In-form Pole Adam Wasilewski held his nerve to seal victory in the second of the Runabout Veterans GP1 Motos. He completed the 14 laps ahead of Germany’s Hans-Werner Reichardt, Estonia’s Valeri Trujevtsev, fellow countryman Bartyzel Arkadiusz and Estonian racer Margus Kesküla.
Eight racers lined up for the start but Moto 1 winner Tomasz Kaźmierczak ran out of good fortune when he retired after four laps. Wasilewski (47 points) now has a nine-point lead over a tying Arkadiusz and Trujevtsev.
Reinass on form again in Ski GP2
Estonia’s Mattias Reinass continued his good pace in Poland to secure the win in the second of the Ski GP2 Motos. He finished over 13 seconds clear of Daan Hoeke to stay firmly on course for Grand Prix success. Fellow countryman Karl Joosep Steinberg wrapped up the final spot on the podium.
Csongopr Jaszai was the only racer from the 11 not to make the start in a 13-lap heat where Luuk Hoeke and Manuel Leite were fourth and fifth and Marten and Marlon Tiik followed close behind in sixth and seventh. Reinass’s two Moto wins have given him 50 points and an eight-point advantage over Steinberg. Daan Hoeke is two points further behind.
Opening Ski GP1 success for Mickaël Poret
Twenty-two riders lined up for the rescheduled opening Ski Division GP1 Moto. Quinten Bossche had pole but the two Poret brothers, Mickaël and Morgan, were faster out of the gate and held the lead through the opening lap.
The two French brothers held station into lap six with Valentin Dardillat, Yoni Hamelin and Kerto Kase running behind third-placed Bossche. The Belgian managed to get around Morgan Poret after seven laps and had his sights set on the Frenchman’s brother. The gap was down to 2.27 seconds heading into lap eight and just 1.06 seconds after 11 tours of the course.
Hamelin found a way past Dardillat and Morgan Poret to take third but Mickaël Poret managed to hold off Bossche to secure the win. Dardillat was later handed a one-lap penalty for not maintaining his lane and slipped down to 19th. His demise lifted Morgan Poret into fourth and Kase and Anders Keller into fifth and sixth.
The win gave Poret a three-point cushion over Bossche to take to Moto 2 on Sunday. The Frenchman said: “Five days we never do testing with this ski, not even one lap. I came here, I start in front and I am very happy. But I made a mistake and was too slow and I saw Quinten coming very fast. He is the best rider in the world now. When I saw him behind me I went full gas and I managed to take the win.”