Bossche, Drange and Mariani complete clean sweeps in Gyor as Perez suffers late setback in Runabout GP1
Sunday, July 19: The Grand Prix of Hungary delivered one of the most unpredictable weekends of the European Continental Championship so far, with a mechanical failure in the closing Moto turning the Runabout GP1 standings upside down, while several riders across other categories continued to dominate their fields in Gyor.
Runabout GP1
Jeremy Perez arrived in Hungary looking to extend his perfect run from Mira, and a Moto 1 win kept that campaign on track. But an exhaust problem in the deciding Moto changed everything. The issue began affecting his pace from the eighth lap, and Perez slipped steadily down the order to finish twelfth. Samuel Johansson, his closest challenger after Moto 1, fared even worse: retirement in Moto 2 meant he could not take the start in Moto 3 at all.
Into that gap stepped Gyorgy Kasza, who repeated his Moto 2 pace to take the holeshot and control the race from the front. But it was Pierre-Francois Savelli who benefited most from the weekend's upheaval. Steady results across all three Motos earned him the overall win in Gyor on 60 points, and with it, the outright lead in the European Championship standings. Kasza, Perez and Mattias Siimann followed behind, level on 56 points apiece — a reminder of just how tight this category has become.
Ski GP1
Quinten Bossche's unbeaten run continues. The Belgian has now claimed every point on offer this season, and his margin in Hungary left little doubt about his current form. The real contest was for the podium places behind him, where three riders crossed the line separated by barely two seconds.
Valentin Dardillat's third straight runner-up finish secured him second overall on 66 points. Behind him, Kevin Reiterer got the better of Jayden Richardson in a close fight for third, with the Australian missing out on the position by fractions of a second in the Moto itself but still holding on to third place for the weekend.
Ski Ladies GP1
Benedicte Drange made it three wins from three, taking the holeshot in the final Moto and never looking back. It's her second clean sweep of the season and gives her the full 75 points for the weekend. Jessica Chavanne, the reigning European Champion, again finished behind Drange in every race, banking 66 points for second place. Jonna Borgstrom rounded out the podium in third.
It was a weekend to forget for World Champion Estelle Poret, whose difficulties compounded as the weekend went on — disqualification, penalties, and a bike problem serious enough to rule her out of the final Moto altogether. After leaving Mira with a maximum score, she departs Gyor with only 16 additional points, setting up a demanding fight to reclaim top spot when the series reaches Vichy.
Freestyle
Roberto Mariani was back to his best, delivering a routine that earned 173 points from the judges and the win in Gyor. Massimo Accumulo pushed him close, scoring 157 points for second — enough to keep the overall championship picture tight between the pair.
Runabout GP2
An early lead for Justin Patzner didn't last, with Linus Lindberg taking over at the front by the third lap. Mattias Siimann then emerged as the main threat, closing to within 0.68 seconds of Lindberg before finally taking the lead on lap six. From there, Siimann pulled clear, eventually crossing the line more than 16 seconds ahead. The result gave him the Grand Prix win on 67 points, though he remains five points behind Karl Keskula in the season standings.
Ski GP2
Daan Hoeke finally got his breakthrough Moto win, dominating the final race by nearly 21 seconds. It wasn't enough to take the overall Grand Prix victory, though: Karl Joosep Steinberg's fourth-place finish in that same Moto was sufficient to hand him the weekend win, 68 points to Hoeke's 58.
Ski GP3
Leo Kete was untouchable all weekend, leading from start to finish in the final Moto to complete a perfect sweep of all three races. Combined with his form in Mira, the Slovenian now sits well clear at the top of the standings on 147 out of a possible 150 points.
Ski GP4
A slow start from pole-sitter Dorijan Jakopanec opened the door for Csongor Jászai, who took full advantage, building a lead of nearly five seconds inside the first lap alone. He controlled the race from there to win by almost ten seconds, securing the Grand Prix on 72 points. Jakopanec settled for second on 62, with Markus Erlach third on 60.
Runabout GP4
Arti Molter held off a determined Mattias Siimann in the closing Moto, crossing the line just 2.48 seconds clear to win the race. The result was enough to give Molter the overall Grand Prix win by the narrowest of margins — 65 points to Siimann's 64.
Runabout Ladies GP4
Alizée Vanden-Blecken continued her perfect season, winning her third Moto of the weekend by more than eight seconds. She now heads into the championship's final round in Vichy as the clear favourite for the title.
Ski Junior GP4
Marvin Bohuslav swept all three Motos on home soil, but having missed the Grand Prix of Portugal, he remains behind Francesco Mariani in the overall Ski Junior GP4 standings, where Mariani leads on 141 points.
Junior World Championship
In Ski Junior GP3.2, Topi Järvenpää took a surprise holeshot and held off Noam Santos Bíró to win the deciding Moto by 3.5 seconds. The result wasn't enough to deny Bíró the title, though, who secured the World Championship on 72 points to Järvenpää's 69 after two prior wins.
Milo Beernaut had to work harder for his Ski Junior GP3.3 title, managing a narrow lead over Leo Kete for the entire final Moto before holding on to win both the race and the World Championship.
Jose Vainio completed a clean sweep of his own, winning all three Motos to claim the Runabout Junior GP4 World Championship.
