MEDIA INFORMATION
2025 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship
BENEDICTE DRANGE LOOKS TO BUILD UPON EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS IN 2025
Monday, April 28: Benedicte Drange may only be 19-year-old but the talented Norwegian has already been crowned as the UIM-ABP Aquabike European Continental Champion in the Ski Ladies GP1 category.
The girl from Bergen began racing in the UIM-ABP series in 2021 and has quickly established herself as one of the leading lights in the highly-competitive Ski Ladies category.
Last year’s European Championship was fought out over nine Motos at three racing venues in Hungary, France and Portugal and Drange was the model of consistency with nine heat finishes to her name and a 20-point winning margin over Swedish rival Sofie Borgström.
Her European title campaign got off to a strong start in Győr, despite being pipped to the Grand Prix win by Jasmiin Ypraus. Drange finished second in the opening two Motos and then won Moto 3. She was again narrowly edged to the post by Ypraus in Vichy but came away from the race weekend on the Allier River with a Moto win and a pair of second places.
With Ypraus missing the final round in Mira, Drange had to stay in front of Borgström to secure the title. The Norwegian won the opening two Motos and a finish in Moto 3 was enough to win the championship.
Drange finished with the bronze medal in the UIM-ABP Aquabike Circuit Pro World Championship behind Ypraus and the outgoing champion Jessica Chavanne. But she grew stronger as the season progressed and finished third in each of the last three Motos in Indonesia to give her the confidence to step up to another level in 2025.
Since that first foray into the World Championship at the Grand Prix of Kuwait four years ago, where she finished fourth overall in each of the Motos, Drange’s progress has been remarkable. She finished sixth in the World Championship the following year, with five consistent Moto finishes and one retirement and then went one better by ending 2023 in fifth position after six Motos in Sardinia and Indonesia – the highlight being a podium finish in the third of the Motos on Lake Toba.
In addition to winning last year’s European Championship, Drange also finished as runner-up behind Ypraus in the World Slalom Championship.
That valuable experience gained over the last few seasons will stand her in good stead for a 2025 season that starts later than usual with the European Championship heading to Poland at the end of May and the World Championship contenders travelling to spectacular volcanic Lake Toba in August.Ends