25 / 44
2017 looks all set to be yet another nail biting
season full of intense drama, complete dedication,
thrills, spills and cutthroat competition, with the
kind of sportsmanship and camaraderie that sets
the UIM-ABP tour a part.
The season kicks-off in June with back-to-back
Grand Prix in the stunning region of Puglia in Italy,
with the Grand Prix of Italy on 2-4 June in Porto
Cesareo and followed a week later by the Grand
Prix of the Mediterranean in Vieste on 9-11 June.
In October the championship heads east to China
for back-to-back events which will be announced in
the comingweeks by the newly appointed exclusive
partner of ABP in China, BUND Holding Group.
The penultimate and final acts of the year will be
played out in the United Arab Emirates with the
Grand Prix of Dubai on 23-25 November and the
Grand Prix of Sharjah on 22-22 December.
This year marks the 23rd season for the UIM-ABP
Aquabike World Championship, the sport’s most
prestigious international jet-ski series and a
spectacular weekend of racing is anticipated for
the first act of 2017 with over 100 riders from 26
countries set to descend on Porto Cesareo, and
the world’s elite riders competing in the UIM-ABP
world tour sharing the water with competitors
bidding to win world titles in Runabout GP2 & GP
4 and Ski GP2 & 3, with riders from as far-a-field
as Australia and New Zealand, the USA, China and
theMiddle East and right across Europe set to face
three days of intense non-stop competition.
The line-up for the 2017 world championship and
the year ahead is impressive and includes a raft of
World, European and National Champions, as well
as an influx of talented newcomers.
In all categories the defending world champions
head the listings; in runabout GP1 Kuwait’s Yousef
Al Abdulrazzaq is aiming to become the first rider
to win three consecutive titles and take his tally to
four. But he faces some tough challengers, Briton
James Bushell and Swede Lars Akerblom. Also
looking to unseat the champion is world ranking
number 1, two-time championship runner-up and
four-time European champion Jeremy Perez.
In Ski the intense rivalry between the world’s top
three will continue, with champion Jeremy Poret
chasing a staggering fifth crown and having to
contend with the likes of Kevin Reiterer and Stian
Schjetlein, not to mention his brothers Mickael and
Morgan and veteran Alberto Monti.
MissingfromthefightwillbeSpain’sNachoArmillas
who is likely to be out for most of the season after
breaking his leg in Zadar at the opening round of
the European Continental Championship.
Emma-Nellie Ortendahl will undoubtedly be the
bookies favourite to retain her title, with Estelle
Poret, Virginie Morlaes and Kylie Ellmers hoping
they can produce something special to challenge
the champion.
UIM-ABP
AQUABIKE WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIPS SET
FOR FASCINATING
SEASON OF THRILLS
AND SPILLS
AQUABIKE
25