Jules Leysen, president of Viersel Waterski Club and a former driver in the UIM F1 Powerboat World Championship, has died, Gazet van Antwerpen has reported.
Leysen was a central figure in Belgian waterski racing for decades. Viersel Waterski Club (VWSC) organises the Diamond Race on the Albert Canal at Viersel. The race was first held in 1984, is known locally as the “Hel van Viersel”, and reached its 41st edition in June this year. Race programmes from recent years list Leysen within the race organisation, including technical direction and safety.
He was also behind the club’s move into a new clubhouse overlooking the canal, which opened in 2015. Vera Van den Bossche of VWSC told Gazet van Antwerpen (translated from Dutch):
He did a great deal for our club. He absolutely wanted a clubhouse with a view of the Albert Canal and worked hard for it. Many board members helped with the construction.
Racing career
Leysen raced powerboats himself as well as driving the tow boats in waterski racing. His official F1H2O driver profile lists him as an F1 waterski pilot at World Championship level from 1988 to 2005. Skiers he towed included Lena Feringa and Kurt Sleeckx.
He moved into circuit racing in the early 2000s. He finished fourth in the S3000 class at the 24 Heures de Rouen in both 2001 and 2002, and was classified 13th in the 2003 F1 World Championship.
From 2004 to 2006 he drove boat 26 as teammate to Finland’s Sami Seliö. The team ran as Selio F1 Powerboat in 2004 and 2005, and as Red Devil Seliö F1 in 2006. In 2005, racing a DAC hull, he finished 12th in the drivers’ standings on nine points. His three points finishes that year came in the last three rounds: ninth in Qatar, eighth in Abu Dhabi and seventh in Sharjah. On a BaBa hull in 2006 he took seventh at the Grand Prix of Italy on Lake Como, the event that marked the 25th anniversary of F1 racing, and ended the season 18th.
BaBa boat builder Massimo Roggiero told Powerboat News:
I liked him very much. Once we made a change to his F1H2O BaBa for the worst but he never complained.
Away from the cockpit, he served for a time as a powerboat inspector and sat on international committees.
Family and funeral
His daughter, Vicky Leysen, followed him into the sport. She became one of Belgium’s leading women waterski racers and finished third at a World Championship in Vichy.
Leysen came from Herenthout and ran HML, a construction firm in Herentals whose projects included a large number of theatres.
His funeral takes place on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 10:00 at aula Van den Broeck in Herentals. The date was set to give his contacts from the international waterski community time to travel.
Powerboat News extends its condolences to his family, to Viersel Waterski Club, and to everyone in the waterski and powerboat racing communities who knew him.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
