Bossche, Medori and Ypraus Claim Olbia Pole Positions
A hectic Friday at the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy saw 145 riders from 26 nations tackle a revised course in Olbia, with nine category winners emerging from qualifying before darkness descended on the opening Motos.
Championship contenders staked their claims across the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship categories, with Quinten Bossche, François Medori and Jasmiin Ypraus securing pole positions in the premier Ski GP1, Runabout GP1 and Ski Ladies GP1 classes respectively.
Bossche Dominates Ski GP1 Qualifying
Defending World Champion Quinten Bossche delivered an imperious performance to claim pole position with an unbeatable lap of 1min 31.616sec in Q2. The Belgian displaced early pacesetter Matteo Benini, who qualified second ahead of title contender Jéremy Poret.
Series leader Oliver Koch Hansen could only manage sixth in qualifying after a challenging session that saw 16 riders eliminated in Q1.
“Very good. Q1 is very hectic with 26 riders and tight tracks. I got some good laps in and got P1 in Q1 and then on to Q2. I had a good lap and had it wide open all the time. The ski worked great. I still feel we are not at 100% with what the machine can do. Hopefully, we can do some more development during the weekend and I can get better.”
Medori Takes Control in Runabout GP1
Championship leader François Medori capitalised on optimal water conditions to secure pole with a commanding lap of 1min 15.431sec in Q2. The performance put him ahead of Jéremy Perez and Mattias Siimann for Saturday’s opening Moto.
Fourteen of the 24 riders were eliminated in Q1, with Pierre-François Savelli and Robin Laforge also progressing to the final qualifying session.
“Pole position was really good for us. We finished in first place after a really good battle with Jéremy. It will be a really good race tomorrow. P1 is always the best position. We need to make a strong race and I need to stay focused.”
Ypraus Claims Ski Ladies GP1 Pole
World Champion Jasmiin Ypraus stamped her authority on proceedings with a pole-winning lap of 1min 35.526sec in Q2. The Estonian initially topped Q1 with 1min 39.358sec before French rider Emma Chavanne briefly claimed the bragging rights, only for Ypraus to respond emphatically in the final session.
Estelle Poret, Virginie Morlaes and Benedicte Drange qualified behind Ypraus, whilst Chavanne failed to post a Q2 time after being towed back to the pontoon.
“P1 was great. I really tried to nail it and was lucky to get a good lap in when it was flatter. At the end, there were more waves, so I am super happy and happy with the team work we had before qualifying.”
GP2 and GP3 Qualifying
Alessandro Fracasso snatched Runabout GP2 pole with a lap of 1min 34.038sec in an Italian-dominated session, though Manuel Reggiani was later demoted to 12th after being docked his fastest lap for dangerous driving. Ruben Jimenez Riquelme and Domantas Vaznys completed the top four.
In Ski GP2, Mattias Reinass was the only rider to break the 1min 38sec barrier, claiming pole with 1min 37.086sec ahead of compatriot Karl-Joosep Steinberg and Hungary’s Csongor Jäszai.
Croatian Dorijan Jakopanec left it late to snatch Ski GP3 pole from Csongor Jäszai with a final run of 1min 46.426sec, edging the Hungarian by just 0.035 seconds.
GP4 Category Poles
Cyrielle Bramm dominated Runabout GP4 Ladies qualifying with a best lap of 1min 47.340sec, beating a dozen rivals including runner-up Arianna Urlo and newly-crowned European champion Nikola Dryjakova.
Baptiste Calmels secured Ski GP4 pole with 1min 47.436sec, 0.709 seconds clear of fellow Frenchman Mathys Meziere, who had a lap cancelled for missing a turn buoy.
Lithuanian Grantas Gurkšnys grabbed Runabout GP4 pole with a late lap of 1min 49.404sec, displacing Ibiza-based Alessandro Prats Palau from the top spot.
First Moto Winners Emerge
As daylight faded over Olbia, three opening Motos were completed with pole-sitters claiming victory in each.
Jakopanec converted his Ski GP3 pole into a commanding 24.746-second win over Jäszai, whilst Calmels held off Ander-Hubert Lauri by 6.702 seconds in Ski GP4. Meziere dropped from a potential podium to seventh after receiving a one-lap penalty for missing a buoy.
Gurkšnys maintained his composure in deteriorating light to win the Runabout GP4 opener by 2.206 seconds from Karol Puzelevic, with Davide Pontecorvo claiming third.
Freestyle Qualifying
Roberto Mariani secured pole position for the first Freestyle Moto with 208 points on the judges’ cards, narrowly beating Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Mulla on 202 points. Massimo Accumolo and Paulo Nuñes rounded out the top four.
Neil Perkins, is a seasoned sports journalist and PR professional. Educated at Adams’ Grammar School, Newport, he developed a lifelong passion for sport, including football, cricket, golf, and snooker.
Perkins began his career as a trainee accountant before moving into sports journalism in 1986 with Motoring News, covering events worldwide. In 1990, he founded NDP Publicity Services in Shropshire, specialising in sports public relations. Over three decades, he has worked across 114 countries for governments, sporting federations, royalty, celebrities, and major events such as the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Winter Olympics.
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