Andersson takes pole for Sharjah Grand Prix

Team Sweden’s Jonas Andersson snatched pole position for the Road to Sharjah-Grand Prix of Sharjah, the final round of the 2023 UIM F1H2O World Championship, on Saturday.

The new World Champion topped the times after three pulsating BRM Qualifying sessions at the Khalid Lagoon and held off a ferocious challenge from Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente in Q3.

Andersson had come into the morning’s session heading Torrente by 18 points in the UIM F1H2O Pole Position Trophy and the Swede duly clinched the title to add to the second World Championship he had already secured in Sardinia back in late September.

Behind the leading duo, Andersson’s team-mate Kalle Viippo qualified in a career-best third place with the Sharjah Team’s Ferdinand Zandbergen set to start Sunday’s Grand Prix from fourth spot.

Nine boats were eliminated from the opening 20-minute session that also went a long way to determining the starting positions at the rear of the pontoon for the Grand Prix and the afternoon’s two Sprint races. Peter Morin carded the early target of 48.444 seconds and that stood for five minutes until Torrente clocked a lap of 48.346 seconds to top the standings. The China CTIC Team’s Brent Dillard was forced to miss the session after bad weather-related logistical delays in the delivery of his new engine from the USA.

Torrente and Morin stayed out in front after eight minutes of the session, although Zandbergen, Andersson, Fahim and Thani Al-Qamzi were well-placed to make Q2 when the session was yellow-flagged with 11 minutes to go after a buoy was dislodged at turn three on the far side of the circuit. Additional time was added to the session as a result of the stoppage and the green flag was raised with just over 11 minutes still to run.

Andersson snatched the top spot in the closing minutes with a fastest lap of 48.202 seconds to beat Torrente, Morin and Zandbergen but Cedric Deguisne, Alexandre Bourgeot, Ben Jelf, Duarte Benavente, Marit Stromoy, Filip Roms, Rashed Al-Qemzi and a disgruntled two-time World Champion Sami Selio were eliminated.

A further six boats were eliminated in the second 15-minute session. Andersson benefited from clearer water and carded the target of 48.975 seconds but that was quickly beaten by Qamzi, Viippo and Stark. Zandbergen then ran quickest with a run of 47.917 seconds, only for Andersson to regain the top spot with a 47.879sec run.

Elsewhere, Andersson stormed to victory in the first of two 15-lap Sprint races. The champion held off Mad Croc Gillman Racing’s Grant Trask through lap one and managed his pace to perfection. He reached the chequered flag clear of the Australian after the race finished under a yellow following a spectacular crash for the China CTIC Team’s Brent Dillard at turn two.

Meanwhile, Team Abu Dhabi will decide overnight whether Shaun Torrente can start Sunday afternoon’s Road to Sharjah-Grand Prix of Sharjah after the triple world champion was involved in a crash during Saturday’s second sprint race on Khalid Lagoon.

Torrente was taken to hospital for medical checks following the accident when his boat was clipped by Victory Team’s Fahim and then collided with the rear of Finnish driver Filip Roms’s Mad Croc Gillman Racing boat.

While Torrente was not seriously injured, he was being assessed by medical staff and no decision was immediately taken on whether he will be fit to race tomorrow. All medical checks have been positive and he will remain in hospital overnight.

Team Abu Dhabi technicians were working overnight in an attempt to repair his badly damaged boat. Team manager Guido Cappellini said that despite the damage, the cockpit remained intact, underlining the ability of today’s F1H2O boats to withstand crashes.