Aquabike 2026: heading to Olbia, Sardinia, 16 to 18 October

The 2026 UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship resumes in Olbia, Sardinia, from 16 to 18 October. After the opening round in Shanghai, the first in China since Qingdao in 2019, four riders arrive in Italy in a strong position: Gyorgy Kasza, Quinten Bossche, Jessica Chavanne and Rashid Al Mulla.

What Shanghai settled

• Runabout GP1: Kasza won the Grand Prix with three Moto wins. Francois Medori, the defending champion, was second with 64 points, ahead of Samuel Johansson (58). Aquabike.net writes that this gives Kasza his best chance yet of a first world title
• Ski GP1: Bossche won every Moto, ahead of Jeremy Poret and Valentin Dardillat
• Ski Ladies GP1: Chavanne won with two Moto wins, ahead of Estelle Poret
• Freestyle: Al Mulla won, ahead of newcomer Demi Morgan and defending world champion Roberto Mariani

Al Mulla targets a seventh title

The Team Abu Dhabi rider, already a six-time world champion, leads Freestyle with 50 points. In Shanghai he scored 227 points from the judges in Moto 1 and took the 25 championship points. He repeated the feat on the final day for another 25 points. Sharjah24 describes him as chasing a seventh world title, backed by the Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club.

Olbia, and then?

The rest of the calendar is described differently depending on the source. Sharjah24 says the Doha and Jeddah rounds were cancelled and that the 2026 title will be decided between Shanghai and Olbia. The calendar Powerboat News published earlier listed four rounds: Shanghai, Olbia, Doha from 19 to 21 November, and a final Middle East stop from 1 to 5 December, which also hosts the Endurance World Championship. According to the same source, the Middle East opener planned for April was withdrawn, with H2O Racing citing "current global geopolitical circumstances". It is best to follow the organiser's calendar.

What is certain: Olbia opens the second act of the season, with the same categories on the programme and the Shanghai wins still to be confirmed.