The French trio of Jessica Chavanne, Mickael Poret and Jeremy Perez dominated the afternoon’s action and secured victories in the Ski Ladies GP1, Ski Division GP1 and Runabout GP1 categories at the Grand Prix of Poland after three days of enthralling racing on Jeziorskomeer, near the village of Ostrow Warcki, on Sunday.
Chavanne seals Ski Ladies GP1 GP victory
Jessica Chavanne needed to defend a six-point lead over Virginie Morlaes to confirm victory in Poland and the former World Champion started Moto 3 strongly and was able to keep the charging World Champion Jasmiin Ypraus at bay throughout the early stages of the last Moto.
Ypraus stayed ahead of Morlaes with Lou Dardillat holding fourth from Naomi Benini, Joana Graca, Debby Keulers and Janina Johansson. There was no stopping Chavanne on this occasion and she reached the chequered flag well clear of her great Estonian rival to earn the Grand Prix win. Ypraus finished second and third was sufficient for Morlaes to take the runner-up spot over the weekend from Dardillat and Benini.
Mickael Poret earns Ski GP1 Grand Prix success with Moto 3 win
Mickael Poret and Quinten Bossche were tied on 47 points apiece at the start of the third Ski Division GP1 Moto with Yoni Hamelin holding a distant third. The duo hit the front again in the final shootout and Poret held the lead into lap five with Oliver Koch Hansen, Valentin Dardillat and Morgan Poret running behind.
Poret called upon all his energy and fitness to keep Bossche at bay and the Frenchman maintained a small gap to his rival into the closing minutes. Bossche then dramatically lost vital seconds and slipped behind Koch Hansen, only to pass the Dane again with the Moto heading into the closing stages. He managed to close up on Poret again but the Frenchman was not to be denied a memorable win with Koch Hansen, Dardillat, Morgan Poret and Kerto Kase rounding out the top six behind runner-up Bossche. Koch Hansen duly pipped Hamelin to third in the Grand Prix.
Poret said: “I lost Moto 2 because I made a mistake, so I was pretty fired up for Moto 3. I had to manage and I went full gas at the split. It was crazy. I am very happy. I beat the best rider in the world now (Bossche).”
Perez confirms Runabout GP1 Grand Prix win; Moto 3 success for Johansson
Two Moto wins had given Jeremy Perez a vital 50 points in Runabout GP1 and the Frenchman started Moto 3 from pole with World Champion Samuel Johansson six points behind him. Robin Laforge and Lino Araujo were tied for third in the Grand Prix standings.
Perez made a good start and managed to stay ahead of Johansson through lap one with Laforge, Araujo and the Polish duo of Kamil Fadrowski and Andrzej Wisniewski running close behind. But a large wave took out the timing system and the Moto had to be restarted once the issue had been resolved.
Johansson got a better restart than Perez and moved into the lead with Araujo holding off Laforge and Wisniewski. The Swede and the Frenchman pulled away from their rivals, with Perez safe in the knowledge that the runner-up spot would give him the Grand Prix win. A relentless Johansson pulled clear to take the chequered flag with Perez confirming overall victory with second place in the Moto ahead of Laforge and Araujo. The result enabled Laforge to take the bottom step of the weekend’s podium. Wisniewski and Pierre Francois Savelli finished Moto 3 in fifth and sixth.
Perez said: “I feel very good. I win the Grand Prix here in Poland and I am very happy. I finished second. I tried to push Samuel but it was impossible to pass so I managed my pace to the finish.”
