Sunday, 12 June, OTRANTO (Italy): Tens-of-thousands of spectators lined the terraces and rocks around Otranto Harbour to see a spectacular climax to the Grand Prix of Italy, round 1 of the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro World Championship. In Ski GP1 Austrias Kevin Reiterer and race 1 winner Nacho Armillas enjoyed a thrilling opening four laps, Spains Armillas leading and fending off two huge lunges up the inside by the champion. But the pressure told on the Spaniard, dropping the bike on lap 4 and losing 20 seconds and places to Jeremy Poret and Stian Schjetlein, that he was unable to make up. Reiterers win today and fourth in heat 1 tied him on 38 points with Armillas, the heat 2 win affording him overall victory and the title, with Poret completing the podium with two second places. The weekend didnt start out too well but we made the most of what we had, said the defending champion. It was a fantastic fight with Nacho. I knew had to up my pace and we made some small changes to the bike. But I knew I had to give 110 per cent and try to force Nacho out of his comfort zone and into a mistake. Thats what happened and I took advantage of it.
