(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Race officials at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) revised the timetable for the UIM-ABP Aquabike Grand Prix of Qatar on Doha Bay yesterday and the pole position qualifying sessions were put back today and will now run immediately before the first of the World Championship heats.
This meant that yesterday was a quiet day by Aquabike standards and included five free practice sessions for the various categories and pre-qualifying for one group of Runabout racers.
Twenty-nine competitors featured on the registration list for the competitive Runabout GP1 category and the list included Qatari entrants, Mohammed Al Haidus, Waleed Al Sharshani, Rashid Al Mannai and Thamer Al Darwish.
A quartet of Kuwaiti racers were headed by former champion Youssef Al Abdulrazzaq while Khalifa Belsekah and Mohammed Mohsen represented the UAE on the entry list, which was dominated by French, Swedish and Polish racers. They will all be hoping for a useful qualifying position when the official green flag is raised on Thursday.
Sixteen aquabike entrants were registered for the men's Ski Division GP1 section. Emirati Almur Bin Herais was the sole Arab entry on the list that included the likes of Jeremy, Mikael and Morgan Poret of France and the American Brock Austin.
Results were unofficial as we closed for press, but Jeremy Poret carded the fastest of the unofficial practice laps € a hot tour of the Doha Bay course in 1min 46.85sec. Nacho Armillas and Mickael Poret were his closest challengers.
Eight girls were entered in the Ski Division Ladies GP1 section. Defending Qatar champion Jennifer Menard of France was joined by Estelle Poret, the Swedish duo of Jonna Borgström and Emma-Nellie Ã-rtendahl, Japan's Yuki Kurahashi, Russia's Kylie Ellmers, the experienced Italian Marta Sorrentino and the Spaniard Sandra Fernandez.
Menard continued where she left off last year and an unofficial fast lap of 1min 52.67sec left her well clear of Ellmers and Ã-rtendahl. Borgström, Poret and Sorrentino trailed in their wake, but the all-important pole position action takes place today morning. The talented Slovenian Freestyle artist Rok Florjancic tops four other competitors in the Freestyle category that included his brother Nac, Italy's Roberto Mariani and the Qatari duo of Fahad Thani Al Hamli and Bader Al Abdullah.
They had their own opportunity to test out the salty waters of Doha Bay, but the real competition begins in earnest on Thursday with Rok Florjancic hoping to continue his awesome run of form to entertain the Qatar crowds with a spectacular Freestyle display. Pole position qualifying now replaces further free practice on the Doha Bay course today morning and the first of the World Championship heats starts with Ski Division GP1 between 2pm and 2.30pm.
Freestyle entrants take centre stage for 30 minutes from 3.15pm and the Runabout GP1 heats start at 4pm.
There will be a spectacular floodlit parallel slalom ski, runabout and freestyle show for spectators between 7pm and 9pm today evening.
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