T
he crowning of four World Champions
at the final Grand Prix of the season
in Liuzhou, China brought down
the curtain on what has been a
simply outstanding year for the UIM-
ABP Aquabike Class Pro World
Championship.
he tour goes from strength-to-strength, a view
reflected by many especially the competitors
affording it the accolades of great organisation, great
events - no doubt a reference to the AMF Music
Festival in Italy and 24-7 party atmosphere in Ibiza
– and the best championship with the world’s best
racers.
That can backed by the incredibly large number of
riders through the doors at registration at each event
resulting in pre-qualifying sessions and maximum
fields of 25 and 30 riders in both Runabout and Ski
with competitors from 22 countries pulling on the
prestigious Aquabike racing vest over the course of
the year.
2014 delivered countless moments that will be
etched in the memory not least the titanic fights for
World title honours in Runabout and Ski with the
Championships decided at the final Grand Prix.
There was the anticipated confrontation and rivalry
between Jeremy Poret and Chris MacClugage, the
French and American stars not disappointing trading
blows [on the water] race-after-race. The last lap
charge by Jeremy Perez in race 1 in Italy to snatch the
win from Francois Medori, the emergence of Jennifer
Menard on the International stage, the first win on the
tour by 18-year-old Estelle Poret and the last gasp
last corner win by Jeremy Poret over MacClugage in
race 1 in China.
Thentherewerethemomentsofdespair;MacClugage
being towed off the circuit in race 2 in Qatar, a broken
sparkplug robbing him of his maiden race and GP win
on his debut. Yousef Al Abdulrazzaq’s title defence
ending before it began, posting no points in Qatar
after a DQ and breakdown, Jeremy Perez seeing his
H20 MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2014 | 19
h2oracing.net
