9 December 2023

Geneva 2023: Bram Chardon to victory with minimal difference

The first competition in Geneva this weekend is over. Bram Chardon came out on top tonight, with minimal difference. So tomorrow he will start last in the battle for World Cup points.

The course in Geneva is different than what we are used to from most World Cup competitions. The drivers are challenged to take a short route through an obstacle several times on the way to a cone gate. In addition, the course consists of a hill and water.

The top times were close to each other in the first round. Bram Chardon, Koos de Ronde, Jérôme Voutaz, who was very enthusiastically encouraged by his home audience, and Dries Degrieck all finished within one second. The fastest time was for Bram Chardon with 159.21 seconds. He was also the only one who left all the balls up. Koos de Ronde had the slowest time of the top four with his time of 160.16, but thanks to Jérôme Voutaz’s three dropped balls he qualified for the Drive-off, where he started first.

0.17 second difference

It also remained exciting in the Drive-off until the end. Because the E did not have to be driven, the drivers chose different lines from the D to the F in obstacle five and obstacle ten. Koos started the drive off. He set a time of 140.32, but due to a dropped ball he had to add four seconds to that. A ball also fell for Dries Degrieck, but with his time of 137.77 he was too quick for Koos.

Even though Bram Chardon left all the balls up in the first round, he was unable to do so in the second round. During his drive, his time seemed very similar to that of Dries and due to his dropped ball he could no longer make a big difference. Bram seemed to have noticed and flew very quickly from gate fourteen, through the water to gate fifteen and then crossed the finish line 0.17 seconds earlier than Dries Degrieck. He is therefore today’s winner.

Tomorrow the drivers will compete for World Cup points. The competition starts at 11:30 am.

Click here for the live stream
Click here for the results

Bram Chardon won the World Cup competition in Stockholm last weekend
Photo: Karolina Swärdh