Competitors across five racing disciplines completed their free practice sessions on Thursday morning at the Old Doha Port Grand Prix of Qatar, with championship contenders posting competitive lap times ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying rounds.
Runabout GP2 Asian Continental Championship
Six GCC entrants from Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia opened proceedings on the water following a packed briefing hosted by race director Marco Petrini. Multiple Runabout GP1 world champion Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq sat out the session.
Saudi Arabia’s Daoud Kaloti topped the timesheets with a lap of 1min 43.425sec, edging out the UAE’s Khalid Al-Maazmi. Qatar’s Mahmoud Abumaali and Mohammed Abumaali represented the host nation alongside Kaloti, Al-Maazmi and Emirati rider Amer Hawair. Mohammed Abumaali posted the third quickest time, though some distance behind the leading pair.
Ski Ladies GP1
Ten riders contested the opening Ski Ladies GP1 free practice session. Championship leader Estelle Poret wore the red vest with second-placed Benedicte Drange and third-placed Jasmiin Ypraus leading the title chase. They face competition from Jessica Chavanne, Virginie Morlaes, Emy Garcia, River Varner, Sofie Borgström, Naomi Benini and Janina Johansson this weekend.
Drange posted the quickest lap of 1min 37.301sec to head the practice times from title rivals Poret and Ypraus, who both recorded close times. Chavanne finished fourth quickest ahead of Benini and Varner.
Ski Division GP1
Nineteen of the original 23 entrants from 10 nations took to the water for Ski Division GP1 free practice. All the leading title contenders were present except fourth-placed Mickael Poret. The Frenchman suffered a freak accident while attempting a somersault on the podium in Sardinia two weeks ago and sustained an ankle injury.
Quinten Bossche initially topped the rankings with a second lap of 1min 48.116sec before Austria’s Kevin Reiterer responded with a flier of 1min 38.694sec. Denmark’s Oliver Koch Hansen then posted 1min 36.724sec to lead at the session’s mid-point, a time that stood until the finish.
Matteo Benini, Reiterer, Jéremy Poret and Alex Barret completed the top five. Benjamin Scharff finished eighth on a ski he is sharing this weekend with Ski Ladies GP1 rookie Emy Garcia. Jéremy’s father Mickael was absent due to injury, while Ander-Hubert Lauri and Toshi O’Hara also ran strongly.
Runabout GP1
Twenty-one of the 23 riders lined up in Runabout GP1, with runaway championship leader François Medori looking to clinch a third world title. Anthony Radetic and Khalifa Belselah sat out the session, whilst Pierre-François Savelli failed to register a proper timed lap. Defending world champion Samuel Johansson withdrew from the original entry list after undergoing surgery last weekend.
Medori posted an early flier of 1min 41.103sec before Guillaume Hemain carded 1min 39.733sec in the final four minutes to top the rankings. Khalid Al-Maazmi, Medori, Jéremy Perez, Ruben Jimenez Riquelme and Qatar’s Khalil Jamal Al-Mohannadi ran in close contention.
Freestyle
A dozen freestylers completed their free practice at the end of the morning’s session, marking the largest number ever assembled for a round of the UIM-ABP World Championship. Italy’s Roberto Mariani will be hoping to stay clear of main rivals Rashid Al-Mulla and Massimo Accumolo.
Host nation riders Bader Al-Nama, Salem Al-Kubaisi, Abdulaziz Al-Abdulla, Bader Al-Abdullah and Abdulrahman Al-Sulaiti will be hoping for success over the coming two days.
The various qualifying and pole position sessions take place this afternoon.
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.
Outside work, he follows Ipswich Town FC, enjoys fishing in Spain and Shropshire, and travels to destinations including Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Catalunya, and Mexico.
