The third stage of the 2024 Italian Watercraft Championship concluded 7th City of Ancona GP

The third stage of the 2024 Italian Watercraft Championship – 7th City of Ancona Aquabike GP has just ended in Ancona.

The competitions took place on the weekend of 8 and 9 June, in the body of water in front of the tourist port of Marina Dorica, one of the largest and most modern that can be found along the coasts of our peninsula. The event was organized by the ASD CLUB AMICI DEL MARE ANCONA in collaboration with the ASD H20 RACING TEAM, under the aegis of the Italian Powerboat Federation (FIM) CONI.

Over 120 pilots from all over Italy, from the youngest to women and men, raced for two whole days in the sea of ​​Ancona. The best riders in Italy, champions of Freestyle, Ski, Runabout and Endurance circuits, competed in spectacular challenges, keeping the audience in suspense.

The categories and 19 classes that competed are:

Runabout F1, Runabout F1 Veteran, Runabout F2, Runabout F4, Runabout F4 Female, Runabout F4 Novice. Spark Youth 12-14, Spark Youth 15-18. Ski F1, Ski F1 Veteran, Ski F2, Ski F4, Ski Open, Ski Superjet, Ski Youth 12-14, Ski Youth 15-18. Freestyle Pro, Endurance F1, Endurance F2.

The second heats of this third stage were held on Sunday 9 June from 10.30 am. The first category to take to the track was Freestyle. The opening act was Sandro Sardelli, who gave an excellent performance in the three minutes, then it was the turn of Massimo Accumulo, Italian Champion 2023, with a performance that left the audience in suspense, completing his performance very well and with an excellent score. The multi-title winner of the Italian, European and world championships, the great Roberto Mariani, then began his 3-minute performance, which won him this Sunday’s heat, with Massimo Accumulo in second place and Sandro Sardelli in third. The same places are confirmed in the stage winners first Roberto Mariani, second Massimo Accumulo and third Sandro Sardelli.

They then took to the track to compete in the 2nd heat, the Ski F4 / Ski Open categories, 10 minutes + one lap. The riders took off with a rolling start from the bungee gate. Adriano Hirsch held the lead from the start of the competition, followed by Carolina Vernata and behind her Davide Pontecorvo for the Ski F4, while Erika Pajer was in the lead for the Ski Open. The trio of the Ski F4 category remained in the lead throughout the race with the same positions. Good performance for Adriano Hirsch who led the competition for the entire heat, until he skidded and stopped, allowing Carolina Vernata to take the lead.

They won the second heat for the Ski F4 category: first place for Adriano Hirsch, second for Davide Pontecorvo and third for Denis Pilotto. The stage was won by Adriano Hirsch, second place went to Davide Pontecorvo and third to Carolina Vernata. For the Ski Open category, however, the heat and the stage were won by Erika Pajer.

The drivers then took to the track for the 2nd heat of the Spark Youth 12/14. Starting from the grid for these very young people, a race of 8 minutes plus one lap, which proved to be very interesting. Alessio Ascione led the competition right from the start, behind him in second place was Ciro Taranto and third was Francesco Bassenghi. The trio maintained their positions throughout the race. This second heat for the Spark youth 12-14 category was won by Alessio Ascione, second place for Francesco Bassenghi, third for Gabriele Dragone. The stage winners were Francesco Bassenghi, Alessio Ascione, Gabriele Dragone, first, second and third respectively.

The 15-18 year old ski youth then took part in the 2nd heat, 8 minutes + one lap was the duration of this race, in which after a regular start, Adriano Hirsch held the lead in the competition, followed by Carolina Vernata and third place Adele Tomassini. The trio completed the race with the same starting setup. The second heat for the Youth Ski category 15-18 years was won by Adriano Hirsch, second place for Adele Tomassini and third for Carolina Vernata. They won the stage: first place for Adriano Hirsch, second for Carolina Vernata, third place for Adele Tomassini.

This was followed by the 2nd Heat of the Runabout F2, for a race lasting 12 minutes plus one lap. From the start Stefano Castronovo was in the lead, behind him Alessandro Fracasso and in third place Nicola De Giorgi, fourth place for Andrea Sirocchi and fifth for Giorgio Viscione. This second heat of the Runabout F2 was won by Alessandro Fracasso, second place went to Nicola De Giorgi and third to Andrea Sirocchi. The stage for this category was won by Giuseppe Risolo, second place for Nicola De Giorgi and third for Andrea Sirocchi.

It was then the turn of the 2nd heat of the Ski F2 – Ski Superjet categories 12 minutes + 1 lap. A smooth start from elastic. Ugo Guidi took the lead from the start, behind him Naomi Benini and third Giuseppe Casarola, fourth Matteo Frolla, fifth Maicol Bettucci, sixth Gianfranco Oliveri, seventh Juri Tiozzo. Naomi Benini followed Ugo Guidi throughout the heat, but was unable to overtake him in the Ski F2 category, while Matteo Benini was in the lead in the Ski Superjet category. In Ski F2, Naomi Benini won the second heat, Maicol Bettucci second and Matteo Frollà third, while the stage was won by Naomi Benini, second place for Lukas Glanninger, third for Ugo Guidi. For Ski Superjet Andy Trasmondi won the heat, second place was Matteo Benini, third place was Gianfranco Oliveri. The stage however was won by Matteo Benini, second place for Andy Trasmondi and third for Gianfranco Oliveri.

In the 2nd Heat of the Endurance F1/F2, 30 minutes + 1 lap of the race, very powerful bikes, the riders made a regular first start. For Endurance F1 this heat was won by: first Mirco Pozzani, second Ezio Lucchese, third Matthias Giraldo. The stage for this category was won by Ezio Lucchese, Matthias Giraldo, third Mirco Pozzani. For the Endurance F2 category, the heat was won by Gaetano Costagliola, with Slobodan Sobic in second place and Luca Vecchiori in third. The stage was won first by Slobodan Sobic, second place by Gaetano Costagliola and third by Nicola De Giorgi.

After a break, the races resumed in the early afternoon with the second heat of the 15/18 year old Spark youth category. A regular start for these young drivers, Domenico Caiazza immediately positioned himself in the lead of the race, followed by Ludovica Urlo, in third place Nicole Cadei, fourth Daniele Ascione, in fifth place Antonio D’Angelo. The public was able to witness a tussle between Cadei and Ascione for third and fourth place, but Ascione was unable to recover it and Cadei maintained third position. This second heat of the Spark Youth category 15-18 years was won by Ludovica Urlo, second Nicole Cadei, third Daniele Ascione. They won the third stage of the 2024 Italian Watercraft Championship, with Daniele Ascione first in this category, Ludovica Urlo second and Nicole Cadei third.

Followed by the 2nd heat of the Youth Ski 12/14. After an irregular false start, the race began with Alessio Ascione in the lead from the start, followed by Eros Brusadin, third place for Francesco Mariani and fourth place for Gabriele Dragone. Brusadin attempted several times to reach and overtake Ascione, but without success. The winners of this second heat for the 12-14 year old Ski Youth category were: first Alessio Ascione, second Eros Brusadin and third Francesco Mariani and Gabriele Dragone with equal merit. The stage was won by the same riders in the same position.

The 2nd heat of the Runabout F4 category was then held. At the start Ilaria Vanni took the lead of the race, behind her Davide Pontecorvo, third place for Naomi Benini and fourth for Ludovica Urlo. This structure was maintained until Davide Pontecorvo managed to catch Ilaria Vanni and overtake her, placing himself in the lead. The heat for the Runabout F4 category was won by Davide Pontecorvo, second place for Ilaria Vanni, third for Naomi Benini. The same positions were confirmed for the stage podium Davide Pontecorvo, Ilaria Vanni, Naomi Benini, first, second and third respectively.

Following the 2nd run of the Runabout F4 Femminile / F4 novice 12 minutes plus one lap for this race. A regular start saw Ilaria Vanni in the lead from the start, Nicole Cadei behind her, Ludovica Urlo third. Ilaria Vanni then separated herself from the others, almost competing in a separate competition. On the last lap Adele Tomassini positioned herself in second place behind Vanni and Lucia Martina in third place. In the Women’s Runabout F4 the heat was won by Adele Tomassini, second was Lucia Martina and third place went to Ilaria Vanni. On the podium of this third stage for this category: first Adele Tomassini, second Ilaria Vanni, third Lucia Martina.

In the Runabout F4 Novice the heat was won by Nicole Cadei, second place for Ludovica Urlo, third for Tommaso Cascino. The trio of stage winners for this category is confirmed on the podium: Nicole Cadei, Ludovica Urlo, third Tommaso Cascino.

In the Ski F1/F1 Veteran heat, 15 minutes + one lap Matteo Benini took the lead from the start, behind him Daniele Piscaglia, third Ugo Guidi, while Andrea Guidi slipped but then recovered and took to follow Ugo Guidi to take third position and succeed. Andy Trasmondy then overtook Ugo Guidi, placing himself in fourth place and demoting Ugo Guidi to fifth. The result of this heat for Ski F1 was: first Matteo Benini, second Daniele Piscaglia and third Andrea Guidi, however the stage for this category was won by Daniele Piscaglia, Matteo Benini took second place on the podium and Andrea Guidi the third.

In the Ski F1 Veterans, the heat was won by Ugo Guidi, with Andreas Reiter second and Gianfranco Oliveri third. The stage winners for this category were: Andreas Reiter first, Ugo Guidi second and Gianfranco Oliveri third.

This was followed by the 2nd heat of the Runabout F1-F1 Veteran, which concluded the races of this stage. Manuel Reggiani took the lead of the race from the start, behind him Stefano Castronovo and followed in third place by Alessandro Fracasso who was then overtaken by Davide Di Maio who took third position, also trying to catch up with Castronovo, until join him, but he failed in his aim of placing second. Fifth position for Pierpaolo Terreo.

The result of the Runabout F1 heat was Manuel Reggiani first, Stefano Castronovo second, Davide Di Maio third. The stage winners for this category were: Pierpaolo Terreo first, Davide Di Maio second and Manuel Reggiani third.

For the Runabout F1 Veterans category, Pierpaolo Terreo won the heat, with Giuseppe Greco second and Andrea Pazzini third. The stage for this category was won by the same drivers, in the same order: first Terreo, second Greco and third Pazzini.

The race field was set up by the organizers.

It was possible to follow all the heats of this stage from the Facebook live broadcasts of the Italian Powerboat Federation.

After the Ancona stage, the fourth stage of the Italian Watercraft Championship will be held in Santa Cesarea (LE) on 7-8 September and the fifth and final stage will be in Fiumicino on 21-22 September.