Lausanne, Switzerland, 16th June 2008 – As always at Oléron, the crucial factor for the 15th World Offshore Championship was the state of the sea. This year, in spite of a changeable weather forecast, the Atlantic Ocean was kind, with slightly choppy water being encountered for only about 50 of the total 500 kilometres to be covered by competitors. Under these conditions and given their unrivalled top speed, the Sea-Doo RXT X watercraft and their ROTAX® engines proved to be unbeatable.
On the first day’s racing, the weather conditions allowed the Sea-Doo riders Cyrille Lemoine and François Medori to dominate the race which they led right from the start. But with the finishing line in sight, Cyrille Lemoine fell (happily without causing serious problems) and allowed François Medori to finish in the number one spot in the first round.
The next day the riders benefited from a very calm sea to show their prowess in the second leg of the championships. The bitter duel between the two Sea-Doo pilots lasted throughout the final 300 kilometres of this race. François Medori’s refuelling strategy paid off handsomely and he led Cyrille Lemoine by more than a minute and a half. But just 40 kilometres from the finishing line Medori was forced to withdraw when algae in the cooling system caused his engine to overheat. Cyrille Lemoine moved in to win his third victory at Oléron, which also gave Sea-Doo their fourth consecutive victory.
The next week-end, this time close to the Iberic capital Madrid, the Spanish rider Jordi Tomas kept the Sea-Doo colours flying high by winning the European Speed Championships in the Runabout category at the helm of his Sea-Doo RXP X watercraft. The competition, which was organized jointly by the International and the Spanish Watercraft Federations, attracted over 40 riders, particularly from France, Spain, Italy and Hungary as well as a large number of official teams representing their brands. The competition was fought out on the "Los Angeles de San Rafael" lake.
After initially taking third place, Jordi Tomás had a good run and moved up to the number two position behind the Hungarian rider Vass. But an unfortunate accident during the race deprived the Hungarian of all hope of victory. This was when Jordi Tomás decided to hold onto his position and spare his engine. Just behind him, José Manuel Cruzado, another Spanish rider on a Sea-Doo, battled it out for second place with the Frenchman Botti and the Italian Bertozzi. Unfortunately a short lapse of concentration by Bertozzi cost him the second place and he dropped back to finish no better than fourth. Jordi Tomás crossed the finishing line in first position but with a reduced lead over his pursuers.
After the race, Jordi Tomás told the Press "I am extremely proud of this title. All went well on Sunday. I was in second place when the Hungarian rider had his accident. From then on I tried to keep going and to hold off the challenges from my pursuers who were pushing me very hard from behind... the Sea-Doo watercraft performed perfectly the whole week-end... I would very much like to thank my mechanic and the whole team and I would like to dedicate this title also to them".
These two consecutive victories by Sea-Doo riders in the World and European Championships demonstrate once again the supremacy of BRP in watercraft racing.
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For more information:
International
Antoine Valla
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Communications & Events
BRP International
+41 21 318 78 83
antoine.valla@brp.com
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Adrien de Alexandris
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+1.450.532.6413
adrien.dealexandris@brp.com