UIM Aquabike World Championship - Victory for Zapata in Doha Double

by aquabike.net on 13 Mar 2011 UIM Aquabike World Championship.*

Franky Zapata, Julie Bulteau and Valerio Calderoni made it two wins out of two to claim overall victories in their respective classes, Runabout, Ski Women’s F1 and Freestyle - to bring to a close a spectacular first ever weekend of UIM World Championship Aquabike racing in the Qatari capital Doha.

Jeremy Poret took his first win of the weekend in Ski Division F1 to add to his second place in heat one on Friday and take an early lead in the championship standings.

Zapata backed-up his number one plate with a second victory in the premier class after another closely-fought tussle with the UAE’s Nadir Bin Hendi, who again had to settle for the runners-up slot, with defending World Champion Cyrille Lemoine carving his way through the field in the closing stages to take the final podium place.

'This is a great day for me, my team and my company,' said a delighted Zapata. 'Bin Hendi is fast and I knew he would lead at the start so I let him go. But my hull is great in the turns and the rough so I just had to be patient. But I knew I would get him later in the race.'

Bin Hendi led from the start with Zapata a close second, ahead of Medori and Mattia Fracasso in third and fourth, but a collision with a buoy on lap five cost Bin Hendi valuable time and allowed Zapata to close and then move into the lead.

Medori and Fracasso held off Cyrille Lemoine to hold third and fourth.

In Ski Division F1, heat 1 winner Jean-Baptiste Botti took an early advantage to lead Jeremy Poret and Christophe Courtois with the trio holding station through lap one.

Botti then edged clear and a superb tussle ensured between Poret and Courtois, with Courtois sneaking through as the trio began to pull away from Spaniard Nachette Armillas.

But Poret kept up the pressure and snatched second from Courtois with a brave overtaking maneuver on lap three and then managed to pass Botti and take the lead a lap later.

By lap seven, Poret had pulled well clear of Courtois, who came under pressure from Armillas, once Botti had slipped out of contention, who in the latter stages of the race grabbed second place.

In Ski Women’s F1, French superstar Julie Bulteau was once again in a class of her own taking her second victory of the weekend on a Rotax-engined Zapata.

The defending champion immediately headed Stefania Balzer and Slovenia’s Pija Sumer in the second heat, and predictably, began to pull well clear as the race progressed.

Behind her a superb duel developed between Sumer and Balzer, with the Slovenian holding a tiny lead through three laps. Italy’s Marta Sorrentino held a distant fourth.

Balzer managed to find her way through into second on lap seven, but Bulteau was in cruise control and went on to record her second win of the weekend and seal a maximum 50-point haul.

In the spectacular Freestyle event, Italian Valerio Calderoni was once again the class act and amassed 481 points for his spectacular and exhausting performance including a variety of triple combinations and nailing a reverse 360 no hands back flip.

Frenchman Romain Stampers and Italy’s Roberto Mariani were awarded second and third positions, with the UAE’s Khaled Al-Qubaisi fourth.



Runabout – Heat Two results

1. Franky Zapata (F) Zapata 15 laps 25pts
2. Nadir Bin Hendi (UAE) Sea-Doo 8.87secs 20pts
3. Cyrille Lemoine (F) Sea-Doo 30.82secs 16pts
4. Francois Medori (F) RXT 35.21secs 13pts
5. Mattia Fracasso (I) Sea-Doo 1m 30.55 11pts

Championship Positions after round one (Qatar)

1. Franky Zapata (F) Zapata 50 pts
2. Nadir Bin Hendi (UAE) Sea-Doo 40 pts
3. Francois Medori (F) RXT 29 pts
4. Cyrille Lemoine (F) Sea-Doo 29 pts
5. Mattia Fracasso (I) Sea-Doo 22 pts

Ski Division F1 – Heat Two results

1. Jeremy Poret (F) Zapata 11 laps 25pts
2. Nachette Armillas (E) Hydrospace 19.54secs 20pts
3. Christopher Courtois (F) Zapata 26.22secs 16pts
1. Jean-Baptiste Botti (F) Hydrospace 32.13secs 13pts
5. Alberto Monti (I) Polaris 40.72secs 11pts

Championship Positions after round one (Qatar)

1. Jeremy Poret (F) Zapata 45 pts
2. Jean-Baptiste Botti (F) Hydrospace 38 pts
3. Christopher Courtois (F) Zapata 32 pts
4. Nachette Armillas (E) Hydrospace 30 pts
5. Alberto Monti (I) Polaris 22 pts

Ski Womens F1 – Heat Two results

1. Julie Bulteau (F) Zapata 8 laps 25pts
2. Stefania Balzer (I) FZ 950 10.31secs 20pts
3. Pija Sumer (SLO) Hydrospace 22.58secs 16pts
4. Marta Sorrentino (I) Hydrospace 1m 18.29secs 13pts
5. Patty Gutierrez (E) Hydrospace + 1 lap 11pts

Championship Positions after round one (Qatar)

1. Julie Bulteau (F) Zapata 50 pts
2. Stefania Balzer (I) FZ 950 40 pts
3. Pija Sumer (SLO) Hydrospace 32 pts
4. Marta Sorrentino (I) Hydrospace 26 pts
5. Patty Gutierrez (E) Hydrospace 22 pts

Freestyle – Heat Two results

1. Valerio Calderoni (I) Jet Revolution 481 pts 25pts
2. Romain Stampers (F) Race Spirit 467 pts 20pts
2. Roberto Mariani (I) Jet Revolution 336 pts 16pts
4. Khaled Al-Qubaisi (UAE) Yamaha 279 pts 13pts

Championship Positions after round one (Qatar)

1. Valerio Calderoni (I) Jet Revolution 50 pts
2. Khaled Al-Qubaisi (UAE) Yamaha 33 pts
3. Roberto Mariani (I) Jet Revolution 32 pts
4. Romain Stampers (F) Race Spirit 20 pts

Full results and information: Aquabike

*2011 UIM Aquabike World Championship season-opener, the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha, has 74 competitors from 13 countries participating. Seven titles are up for garbs in this first round of the championship.

Championship events:
World Championship 2011 QA Doha Mar, 11th-12th
IT Arbatax May, 28th-29th
FR Portovecchio Jun, 04th-05th
CN Liuzhou Oct, 05th-06th
CN TBA Oct, 15th-16th