Alex Barret rules in all rough conditions
Rookie of Akropolis Jet Raid Alex Barret made a strong point by winning most motos in rough water conditions and won the overall and in F1 class on his first participation of the five day offshore/endurance race.
Words: Vasilis Moraitis
Photos:www.jetskiworld.gr
The first day of the 11th Akropolis Jet Raid was full of surprises since the rough conditions gave a welcome warm-up to all riders. The first moto of the day was a flash race from Paddock situated at Palaio Faliro in Athens to Island of Fleves and back. A route of 40km that the riders had to do it twice so in total they covered a distance of 80km. Race started at 12:58.30 and the first two riders that appeared after one lap was Jean-Bruno Pastorello and Alex Barret. The later looked to be at least 100meters behind him. However, Jean-Bruno Pastorello’s boat experienced a mechanical issue (broken supercharger belt) that forced him to slow down his speed to 8km/h so he did not make it to Fleves Island and he returned back to the paddock where it was found that the supercharger belt was cut. Jean-Marc Doukhi had also to get to the beach on the paddock after one lap where it found that an electrical issue left him with three cylinders in operation. Doukhi did not start at any of the two motos in the afternoon. Mathis Vinceneau had to get on to the shore at the paddock when his steering cable was broken after the first lap was completed. Philippe Herve also experienced some issues due to a false fuse and forced to get in to the paddock after the first lap. Alexander Fabrice experienced some problems with the butterfly of the throttle body so he made it safe to the paddock too. In general this first moto was a good warm up for all riders however, there were more surprises later on in the afternoon on the three motos of the oval race.
After two hours the wind was stronger and the waves much bigger so the riders had to maintain their speed without sacrificing to have an accident. The rider who appeared to master those rough conditions better than anyone else was no other than Alex Barret who is well known for his great and smooth riding style under such conditions. It is worth mentioning that Barret hit badly on a wave in Moto 2 (Supercharged moto) and lost his goggles while he was in the lead with a remarkable difference however, he still managed to win the moto ahead of Jean-Bruno Pastorello. Additionally, Antony Turban was also flying fast on his Kawasaki STX-15F which the only 15F in this race. The riders of F3 and F4 class started first in moto 1 of the oval race and then followed by the riders of F1 and F2. The last moto of the day included a 10 lap (and not as originally scheduled) race with the riders of all classes. In moto 1 many riders took the wrong buoy in second turn so they found out at the end with a penalty. More mistakes followed in moto 2 when some riders passed the red/white buoys in the wrong direction and not as it specified at the riders meeting so they found themselves getting penalized too.
On second day, the riders covered a distance of 47km from Paddock to Poros after passing Island of Aegina on their right. When they approached the Island of Poros they had to find the secret (Phantom) way point. Most of them arrived fairly quickly but they did not managed to located on time the secret point. Jean-Bruno Pastorello, Sebastien Binondi and Cyril Destro were the first ones who located the Race Direstor’s boat and took the Phantom point first ahead of Bruno Claret and Alex Barret. Two riders did not manage to find the Phantom Point, Catherine Emelie Rui and team Philippe Herve/ Ludovic Pailloux. Afterwards, the riders made a short distance Flash Race from the Phatom Point to Russian Bay and covers another 12km to approach the beautiful beach of Poros where they got some rest, had launch and refuel before the final moto of the day. Team Stephane Haccoun/Patrice Monticelli experienced some mechanical issues so they could make it to Russian Bay and also missed the final moto of the second day.
After two hours of rest riders made a boat flag parade through Poros Island and Peloponisos before they got a rolling start for the final moto of the day. On this last moto the sea got a little more rough than it was in the morning however they all managed to cover the distance of 55km back to the paddock. Jean-Bruno Pastorello and Alex Barret arrived first back to the paddock both riding I a class of their own. At the end of day 2 the first five riders in the General Classification were Alex Barret, Antony Turban. Hugo Pastorello, Jean-Bruno Pastorello and Manu Cherici. It was an outstanding case to see two riders on natural aspirated boats to be in the second and third place respectively in General Classification.
Enzo Lozahic was officially out of the race since he suffered from knee injuries (he was already injured before he came to Greece for the race) that forced him to stop him his effort at the 11th Akropolis Jet Raid. Olivier Vidal and Jean-Marc Doukhi missed the whole day since they had not managed to fix their boats yet.
Day 3 was marked as Marathon and Death Day in the official road book since the riders had to cover a huge distance in just one day. Riders had to cover initially a distance of 93 km by starting from paddock (located in P.Faliro of Athens) to Mati. As soon as they refueled they rode from Mati to Chalkida by covering another 72 km. When they approached Chalkida and gathered they made the connecting stage of 10km to Nea Artaki (town in Evia Island) where they got a mid day snack and refueled their boats. From there they rode 75km to Agios Konstantinos which was the final big route of the day connecting stage of 10km to Lichadonisia. At this final destination of the day they camped on the beach. Support groups and mechanics arrived to Lichadonisia by a small boat from Agios Konstantinos. Dinner on the beach was fantastic as well as the party followed by DJ Stephane who kept everybody dancing until 12 o’clock midnight.
Jean-Bruno Pastorello was leading the course to Mati ahead of Alex Barret however he run out of fuel just 300 meters from the finish line so Alex Barret won stage 1 of the day ahead of Manu Cherici and Michael Le Gall while Jean-Bruno Pastorello managed to get the fourth spot ahead of Sebastien Biondi. Team Michel Jurado/Thomas Jurado did not make it to the finish line due to mechanical issues and also could not start on the motos that followed. Manu Cherici arrived first in Chalkida ahead of Jean-Bruno Pastorello with a very small difference in time and Alex Barret made it to third place ahead of Michael Le Gall and Sebastien Biondi. Cedric Lamy experienced some issues (broken engine mounts) so he did not managed to finish moto 2 of the day and he could not make to start line for moto 3 so he lost many points. The final stage of the day was rougher due to the fact that weather conditions changed. Jean-Bruno Pastorello won the particular stage ahead of Manu Cherici and Alex Barret and Michael Le Gall with Sebastien Biondi concluded the first top five finishers.
At the end of third day the top five finishers in General Classification were Alex Barret, Bruno Claret, Manu Cherici, Jean-Bruno Pastorello and Antony Turban. Therefore, everybody was expecting to be a great fight among the top three riders of F1 class since were very close in points. But day 4 was full of surprises…
Rough water conditions was in top of the menu for day 4 which was another difficult and demanding day of three solid motos with a total distance of 268km to be covered. In moto 1 Jean-Bruno Pastorello and Thomas Vincent were forced to quit the race due to mechanical issues (both suffered from engine failure) and they reached the shore at Livanates to be picked up. Later on the crew Stephane Haccoun/Patrice Monticelli also DNFed due to a broken engine on moto 1 and could not restart for the rest two motos of the day. Bruno Claret was experienced some problems and he was out of the race in moto 2 however, he managed to race again in the final moto of the day. On final moto Alexandre Fabrice was forced to slow down close to the beach of Elinikos due to a cracked hull.
Alex Barret was the master of day 4 as he finished first on all motos and succeeded a 61 point difference from Manu Cherice who was second in General Standings and F1 class with 496 points. Riders Steve Koffi/Christopher Cotton, Bruno Claret and Hugo Pastorello were concluding the top five finishers respectively. By the end of the day the mechanics were working on the rev limit. DB Racing had to put a fresh engine on Biondi’s and Destro’s boat since the first one suffered from crank failure and the second from cylinder head and valve issues. Team of Jurado had to take the engine out and replace the driveshaft support bracket which was completely destroyed.
An unusual issue for the standards of Akropolis Jet Raid happened for the first time in day four while the crew (Sifis, Tasos Moraitis and Vasilis Moraitis) of Jet Raid were taking the results on the dock at Mati. A guy who was part of the crew of a French Team came right behind the Jet Raid crew and stole a Team Pastorello hoody which was left a meter away from the three guys. Accidently, he left only the T-Shirt. The three men of Jet Raid crew made a big issue about it and there were only a few people around at the dock so finally the wise guy gave back the hoody to Sifis. A photo of the guy and the name of the team is on the books so this is not nice and it shows that some people do not belong to the safe and respectful community of Akropolis Jet Raid.
The final day was almost a copy/paste version of day 1 regarding the procedure of racing apart from the fact that on moto 1 riders have to pass close to a circle of 300metes the secret point in Makronisos Island. The riders took the way point details right on the start so they had to adjust their GPS devices on the boat and leave. The facts that they had to cover a distance of 122km made it tougher for the supercharged boats. Bruno Claret and Hugo Pastorello was going almost side by side for the whole distance however, at the end Claret finished first ahead of Hugo and Mathis Vinceneau. Antony Turban and Corentine Breton/Eric Lebas crew were disqualified and got no points since they did not pass close enough to the secret way point. Crew of Philippe Herve/ Ludovic Pailloux faced with some issues and did not manage to finish the particular moto.
In the afternoon the final stage of 2021 Akropolis Jet Raid proceeded with a 10 lap oval race for the two major classes, Natural Aspirated boats and Supercharged boats. At the end all riders of all classes raced for 10 laps. Weather conditions got rougher in the afternoon while in the morning were much calmer. Rookie of Akropolis Jet Raid but well known offshore/endurance rider Alex Barret won the overall title of 2021 Akropolis Jet Raid with Manu Cherici in second place and Bruno Claret in third. It was very interesting to have a Natural Aspirated boat on the podium as well as the fact that another one finished in fourth place with Hugo Pastorello. That shows the potential of the highly modified atmospheric powered boats under such demanding and rough conditions. Antony Turban proved to be a very fast rider on his STX-15F however, he was disqualified in the morning and in the afternoon he lost control on the waves and he was off the boat, a fact that made him loose some positions while rider of Patrice Pellier/Mathieu Eschbach team took him back to the boat. The podium of F3 Class was full of many newcomers with Bruno Claret, Hugo and Antony Turban. Hugo’s second place was important for the Team Pastorello since two riders were out of competition. It was very impressive to see newcomer Corentine Breton who raced with Eric Lebas to finish in second place of F2 Class on a bone stock Ultra 310R (it was equipped only with a larger oil cooler).
Riders, Teams, support crews and spectators were present at the ceremony awards that were held in the paddock and base camp of Akropolis Jet Raid in the Palaio Faliro of Athens. Present at the ceremony awards was the Major of P.Faliro mr Ioannis Fostiropoulos and Major of Alimos Andreas Kondilis, mrs Dimitra Nanou Regional Vice Governor of South Athens, mr Nikos Alvanos Vice Major of Alimos and many more. 2021 Akropolis Jet Raid came to an end for 11th consecutive year with great success and all riders and teams enjoyed dinner at the paddock and the music of Dj Stephane.
Final Results of 2021 Akropolis Jet Raid
General Classification
Position-Rider-Race boat-Class-Country-Points
1. 30.Alex Barret-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-725
2. 13.Manu Cherici-Sea-Doo RXT300X-F1-France-650
3. 89.Bruno Claret-Sea-Doo RXT300X-F1-France-616
4. 88.Hugo Pastorello-Kawasaki Ultra LX- F3-France-610
5. 26.Steve Koffi/Christopher Cotten-Sea-Doo RXT300-F4-France-570
6. 121.Michael Le Gall-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-532
7. 55.Antony Turban-Kawasaki STX-15F-F3-Corcica-516
8. 7. Mathis Vincendeau-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-France-463
9. 9. Sebastien Biondi-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-448
10. 21.Akis Malouchos-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-Greece-443
11. 24.Corentine Breton/Eric Lebas-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F2-France-417
12. 27.Javier Severi/Lucca Vecchiori -Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F2-Spain/Italy-415
13. 171.Denis Lorentz/Stephane Fontaine-Yamaha FX-F4-France-406
14. 303.Cedric Lamy- Yamaha FX-F3-France-394
15. 3.Huge De Grand Maison-Yamaha FX-3-France-394
16. 23.Jean-Marc Doukhi-Yamaha FX-F3-France-315
17. 131.Cyril Destro-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-307
18. 4.Vidal Olivier-Sea-Doo GTX-F3-France-310
19. 8.Jean-Bruno Pastorello-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-3
20. 127.Agostinho Goncalves-Yamaha FX-F3.France-273
21. 44.Fabrice Alexandre-Yamaha FX-F3-Corcica-248
22. 211.Patrice Pellier/Mathieu Eschbach -Yamaha FX-F4-France-225
23. 79.Catherine Emelie Rui-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-Martinique-191
24. 2 Vincent Thomas-Yamaha FX- F3-France-182
25. 883.Stephane Haccoun/Patrice Monticelli-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F2-France-149
26. 86.Philippe Herve/ Ludovic Pailloux -Kawasaki Ultra LX-F4-France-91
27. 126.Michel Jurado/Thomas Jurado-Yamaha FX-F4-France-57
28. 115.Enzo Lozahic-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-France-37
29. 52.Panagiotis Panoussis-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-Greece-28
F1 Class
Position-Rider-Race boat-Class-Country-Points
1. 30.Alex Barret-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-725
2. 13.Manu Cherici-Sea-Doo RXT300X-F1-France-650
3. 121.Michael Le Gall-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-532
4. 9. Sebastien Biondi-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-448
5. 21.Akis Malouchos-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-Greece-443
6. 131.Cyril Destro-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-307
7. 8.Jean-Bruno Pastorello-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F1-France-305
F2 Class
Position-Rider-Race boat-Class-Country-Points
1. 26.Steve Koffi/Christopher Cotten-Sea-Doo RXT300-F4-France-570
2. 24.Corentine Breton/Eric Lebas-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F2-France-417
3. 27.Javier Severi/Lucca Vecchiori -Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F2-Spain/Italy-415
4. 171.Denis Lorentz/Stephane Fontaine-Yamaha FX-F4-France-406
5. 211.Patrice Pellier/Mathieu Eschbach -Yamaha FX-F4-France-225
6. 883.Stephane Haccoun/Patrice Monticelli-Kawasaki Ultra 310R-F2-France-149
7. 86.Philippe Herve/ Ludovic Pailloux -Kawasaki Ultra LX-F4-France-91
8. 126.Michel Jurado/Thomas Jurado-Yamaha FX-F4-France-57
F3 Class
Position-Rider-Race boat-Class-Country-Points
1. 89.Bruno Claret-Sea-Doo RXT300X-F1-France-616
2. 88.Hugo Pastorello-Kawasaki Ultra LX- F3-France-610
3. 55.Antony Turban-Kawasaki STX-15F-F3-Corcica-516
4. 7. Mathis Vincendeau-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-France-463
5. 303.Cedric Lamy- Yamaha FX-F3-France-394
6. 3.Huge De Grand Maison-Yamaha FX-3-France-394
7. 23.Jean-Marc Doukhi-Yamaha FX-F3-France-315
8. 4.Vidal Olivier-Sea-Doo GTX-F3-France-310
9. 127.Agostinho Goncalves-Yamaha FX-F3.France-273
10. 44.Fabrice Alexandre-Yamaha FX-F3-Corcica-248
11. 79.Catherine Emelie Rui-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-Martinique-191
12. 2 Vincent Thomas-Yamaha FX- F3-France-182
13. 115.Enzo Lozahic-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-France-37
14. 52.Panagiotis Panoussis-Kawasaki Ultra LX-F3-Greece-28
F4 Class
Position-Rider-Race boat-Class-Country-Points
1. 26.Steve Koffi/Christopher Cotten-Sea-Doo RXT300-F4-France-570
2. 171.Denis Lorentz/Stephane Fontaine-Yamaha FX-F4-France-406
3. 1.Patrice Pellier/Mathieu Eschbach -Yamaha FX-F4-France-225
4. 215. 86.Philippe Herve/ Ludovic Pailloux -Kawasaki Ultra LX-F4-France-91
5. 126.Michel Jurado/Thomas Jurado-Yamaha FX-F4-France-57
