The opening round of the 2024 series at Fort William course offered thrilling racing moments to remember. Among the highlights were two new Junior winners, Vali Höll’s continued dominance, and Loic Bruni’s first win in Scotland. Heather Wilson, racing on home soil, secured the win by 3.597 seconds after placing second in qualifying. Sacha Earnest finished in second place, closely followed by Eliana Hulsebosch. Despite suffering a rear flat, 2023 World Champion Erice Van Leuven managed to finish in fifth place. Asa Vermette impressed with his first World Cup victory, ending the round with a six-second lead over Luke Wayman. Daniel Parfitt came in third, 6.218 seconds off the winning pace.
Vali Höll showed no signs of slowing down, starting the 2024 season with a win just as she did in 2023. Nina Hoffmann put on a stellar performance, with Vali Höll and Tahnee Seagrave unable to match her time in split two. However, Höll managed to make up 1.7 seconds in the final splits to beat Hoffmann by 0.561. Tahnee Seagrave finished the week in third place, showing a return to form.
Loic Bruni finally claimed his first elite World Cup win at Fort William after setting the fastest time in qualifying and beating Troy Brosnan by 1.8 seconds in race one.
Finn Iles rounded out the top three and was only two seconds off Bruni’s time.
The next round of racing will take place in Poland with a brand new track for round two after a short break.
Overall, the first round of the 2024 series at Fort William provided fans with unforgettable moments and exciting competition heading into the next round at Poland’s new track!