Swiss Freestyle scooter rider Matis Neyroud was crowned the first-ever winner of the eSkootr Championship (eSC) racing series at London’s Printworks venue last weekend.
Riding for the Plyr:1 team, Neyroud took the lead at the start of the final and led all eight laps to beat British motorbike racer Dan Brooks of Nico Roche Racing by just 0.777 seconds. Joining them on the podium was Carlin’s Indian-born Cross Fit star Anish Shetty.
Entertaining a packed crowd, thirty professional male and female athletes from a diverse range of backgrounds battled it out in a series of knockout races.
All the riders rode around the 12-turn, 470-metre track on specially built S1-X eSkootrs capable of speeds over 100km/h.
The squads running the S1-X include traditional motorsport teams such as Carlin to new enterprises led by professional sportspersons, such as two-time heavyweight champion of the world Anthony Joshua and Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Neyroud qualified for the final, only after a tense semi-final battle with Shetty, where the two swapped positions several times.
In the final, Neyroud took first position and at half distance held a commanding 2.2 second lead.
But short on boost power, he was slowly reeled in by Dan Brooks who closed the gap to 1.1 and then just 0.7 seconds as they started the eighth and final lap.
“I used up a lot of boost in the quarter final when I didn’t need to, but luckily when I reached the final I still had 40 seconds,” said Neyroud.
“Coming into that last lap, my legs were so tired that I was really holding on at the end. It is lucky we only race for eight laps because if we went for nine it might have been a different story. I will be working hard to make sure I’m more prepared for the next round.”
Kilian Larher of Nico Roche Racing finished fourth ahead of Aymard Vernay (Racing Citizens) and Murphy Scooters’ Dakota Schuetz.
This brand-new category of sport began with a series of six heat races. In a format whereby the rider in last place was eliminated after eight laps, the top five progressed into the quarter final, with the semis and final taking place later on Saturday evening.
The next round takes place in Sion, Switzerland in two weeks’ time.
