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Samuel Johansson emerged from a remarkable Runabout GP1 finale as World Champion on Sunday, 18 October, joining Quinten Bossche, Jessica Chavanne and Rashed Al Mulla among the title winners at the closing round of the 2026 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship.
Held under clear Sardinian skies, the final day of the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy brought the season to a close with decisive races across the programme. Olbia provided the setting for dominant performances, successful title defences and a championship outcome that remained uncertain until the final classification.
Runabout GP1: Johansson prevails after a dramatic reversal
The Runabout GP1 title contest took several decisive turns over the final two Motos, with Johansson eventually securing the crown by just two points.
François Medori initially controlled Moto 2, converting the holeshot into a clear advantage over Johansson. Behind them, György Kasza needed a strong recovery after mechanical problems had left him tenth in the preceding race. The Hungarian immediately made progress, reaching fifth at the start before advancing to third during the opening lap.
Kasza then closed on Johansson, reducing the gap from 1.889 seconds after lap two to 1.195 seconds one lap later. Meanwhile, European Champion Jeremy Perez suffered another mechanical setback, stopping on the third lap and recording a further retirement.
Johansson’s efforts to hold off Kasza allowed Medori to build an 8.631-second cushion by lap six. However, once Kasza moved into second on lap eight, the complexion of the race changed. A ninth lap of 1:28.770, compared with Medori’s 1:31.591, helped bring the Hungarian to within 1.635 seconds as they began lap ten.
Kasza subsequently emerged from the split section in front and rapidly pulled away. After one complete lap at the head of the field, his advantage had grown to 6.885 seconds. His pace remained relentless, with the difference between their lap times approaching ten seconds in the closing stages.
Victory by 22.921 seconds transformed Kasza’s championship prospects. He and Medori entered the final Moto level on points, while Johansson’s third-place finish left him eleven points adrift.
Kasza appeared to have carried that momentum into Moto 3. An outstanding launch gave him an immediate lead over Medori, with Johansson again running third. Rough water through the split section briefly brought Medori back into contention, narrowing the margin to 1.752 seconds. Medori then missed a buoy and had to negotiate the penalty buoy, allowing Kasza to stretch the gap to 5.709 seconds.
The title battle changed completely when both leaders received two-lap penalties for cutting the course.
Kasza and Medori were first and second across the finish line, but the penalties relegated them to ninth and eleventh respectively in the official results. Johansson, who crossed the line third, was therefore classified as the winner.
The resulting 25 points lifted Johansson to 125 in the championship standings, securing the world title ahead of Kasza on 123 and Medori on 121.
Ski GP1: Bossche completes a flawless campaign
Quinten Bossche began the final Ski GP1 Moto with the championship already secured. His 31-point advantage placed him beyond the reach of his rivals, but the newly crowned champion still had a perfect season to complete.
Bossche took command from the start and remained unchallenged at the front throughout the race. Jeremy Poret occupied second position, followed by Soshi Sato, until Sato fell on lap seven. Unable to restart, the Japanese rider retired, allowing Mattias Reinnas to move into third.
Another victory ensured Bossche finished 2026 unbeaten in every Moto he contested across the World and European Championships, completing an exceptional season of sustained dominance.
Reinnas secured second overall at the Olbia Grand Prix, with Raphaël Maurin completing the event podium.
Ski Ladies GP1: Chavanne retains her crown as Drange wins in Olbia
Jessica Chavanne entered the last Ski Ladies GP1 race knowing that a top-six finish would be sufficient to secure another World Championship. The Grand Prix classification remained more finely balanced, with Benedicte Drange holding the advantage before Moto 3.
The first start was halted by a red flag after Naomi Benini and Chavanne fell into the water. At the restart, Jasmiin Ypraus seized the lead, closely followed by Drange. Estelle Poret moved into third ahead of Chavanne, before Emy Garcia produced a rapid opening lap to pass both riders and take over third position. Garcia also recorded the fastest lap of the race.
Ypraus steadily established control, extending her lead over Drange to more than ten seconds by lap four. Drange, meanwhile, had to respond to pressure from Garcia behind her.
The leading order remained unchanged to the finish, with Ypraus winning ahead of Drange and Garcia. Chavanne crossed the line fifth, comfortably meeting the requirement to retain her world title.
Drange also ended the weekend with a major success. Her combined results secured the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy victory by a single point over Ypraus.
Freestyle: Al Mulla earns a seventh world crown
Rashed Al Mulla delivered the highest-scoring Freestyle performance of the final Moto to claim both the Olbia Grand Prix and the seventh World Championship of his career.
Reigning World Champion Roberto Mariani set an impressive benchmark with a routine featuring 20 successive backflips. The Italian received 226 points from the judges.
Demi Morgan followed with an energetic display, although unsuccessful attempts at several manoeuvres limited her score to 190.
Performing last, Al Mulla immediately demonstrated his ambitions by landing the double backflip he had narrowly missed in Moto 1. His routine earned 252 points, giving him the decisive advantage in the contest.
Mariani’s judging scores secured second place in the Grand Prix ahead of Morgan. Their positions were reversed in the final World Championship standings, however, as Morgan completed her debut season as runner-up. Mariani, the reigning European Champion, finished third overall.
Single-event championships: Titles settled across five classes
The final Motos also determined the World Champions in the single-event categories, with consistency proving decisive in several closely contested classes.
Karl Keskula won the closing Runabout GP2 race convincingly, but Mattias Siimann’s third-place finish was enough to retain the world title. Siimann concluded the event with 70 points, three ahead of Keskula.
In Runabout Ladies GP4, Elisa Tiberi recovered from twelfth-place finishes in each of the opening two Motos to win the final race. Annemarie Oiemets finished third, securing the World Championship and completing a substantial improvement on her eleventh place the previous year.
Lithuania’s Grantas Gurkšnys claimed the Runabout GP4 World Championship, adding his name to the list of title winners in Olbia.
Robin Sylvester took his first Ski GP2 victory of the weekend in Moto 3, winning by 2.957 seconds. Second place nevertheless gave Karl Joosep Steinberg the championship, with 72 points against Sylvester’s 69.
European Champion Leo Kete added the Ski GP3 world title to his achievements with a clean sweep of all three Motos.
Csongor Jászai matched that result in Ski GP4, completing his own treble of victories in Olbia. The Hungarian’s World Championship success, alongside his European title, brought the most successful season of his career to a fitting conclusion.
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