Victory Team drivers dominate sprint races

Dubai-based Victory Team had the perfect start to the Grand Prix of Shanghai, China, as their two drivers dominated the sprint races, with Alec Weckstrom and Shaun Torrente leading Sprint Race 1 and 2 respectively from start to finish.

This puts the team in a dominant position going into Monday’s Grand Prix, the third of the 2026 UIM F1H2O World Championship season.

During the first sprint race, Weckstrom flew away from the start well ahead of the rest of the driving pack, and within just two turns managed to open up significant breathing room between himself and the rest of the drivers.

Jonas Andersson had a great start of his own, after the former World Champion started in last place due to an engine change before the race, and moved up into sixth place within the first few turns of the race.

Andersson then chased down fifth-placed Marit Stromoy, with the two drivers going side-by-side for four consecutive turns, before Andersson found the burst of pace necessary to close the door on Stromoy and definitively move into fifth place.

Once in fifth place, Andersson immediately began hunting down his team mate Erik Stark in fourth place, closing the gap between them with each turn. But there was to be no battle between the two Team Abu Dhabi boats, as just when Andersson was getting close to Stark on the fourth lap, Stark’s boat came to a halt due to mechanical issues and forced the Swede into early retirement.

Team Abu Dhabi’s issues were soon compounded, as Rashed Al Qemzi’s boat also came to a halt and ended the race early, leaving Andersson as the only one of Team Abu Dhabi’s three drivers still in the race.

With Weckstrom flying far ahead in first place with an insurmountable lead, the race’s battle became for second place, which by the half way mark was occupied by former World Champion Sami Selio. Grant Trask was close behind, having to manage both an offensive and defensive racing posture, with Andersson following right on the tail of the Sharjah Team driver’s boat. Trask held his nerve, shutting down any potential overtake opening for Andersson, and then manoeuvring into an overtake of his own to snatch second place from Selio with two laps left. Selio almost suffered a double overtake, as Andersson came right on his tail.

Weckstrom comfortably crossed the finish line in first place after an exemplary showing from the Victory Team driver, with Trask taking second place, and Selio holding onto the third podium place.

Current world champion Torrente had a blistering start to the second sprint race, rapidly pulling away from the pontoon and tightly taking the first turn with considerable distance between himself and second-placed Stefan Arand.

By the first lap, Torrente already had a 2.198 second lead. Rusty Wyatt started at the back of the racing pack following an engine change, but a strong start meant he quickly moved up the racing pack, slotting into fifth place by the first lap. Once in fifth place, Wyatt set his sights on fourth-placed Alberto Comparato and began to eat away at the distance between them.

As the drivers settled into the race, misfortune struck for Maverick Racing’s Alexandre Bourgeot who was unable to keep his momentum going from a strong showing in the qualifiers as mechanical issues ground his boat to a halt and ended his race after four laps. Meanwhile at the front of the race, Arand managed to keep race leader Torrente in his sights, not allowing the American to build up a large lead, and going into the final third of the race with just 2.720 seconds separating the two.