Shaun Torrente arrives in Shanghai this weekend four points clear of Stefan Arand, with only two rounds of the UIM F1H2O World Championship left to run. The Grand Prix of Shanghai takes place on October 4-5 in the Baoshan district, followed by Sharjah on December 18-20 at Khalid Lagoon, which F1H2O has confirmed as the season finale.
F1H2O announced on September 27 that the Jeddah Grand Prix would not take place in 2026, citing the ongoing force majeure situation affecting the Saudi city. The championship said the current geopolitical circumstances meant the race could not go ahead, despite every effort to keep it.
A Season Halved
H2O Racing announced seven rounds across three continents when it confirmed the 2026 calendar in April. A second Chinese round, pencilled in for September 28-30 at an unnamed venue, was dropped in July. A Grand Prix of the Middle East for December 11-13, whose venue was never named, has since disappeared from the calendar, and Jeddah, set for November 26-28, is the latest to go.
That leaves four rounds: Cagliari and Issyk-Kul, already raced, then Shanghai and Sharjah.
The Championship
| Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team | 40 |
| 2 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team | 36 |
| 3 | Jonas Andersson | Team Abu Dhabi | 31 |
| =4 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi | 30 |
| =4 | Grant Trask | Sharjah Team | 30 |
The top three represent Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Each driver races one of the two sprints, worth 10 points for a win, plus the Grand Prix, worth 20, so 30 points are available to any driver per round and 60 across the two that remain.
Arand led by nine points after winning in Cagliari, but retired with a mechanical problem in Kyrgyzstan, where Torrente won to take the lead in what he has confirmed will be his final season before retirement. Andersson, nine points off the lead, took pole at Issyk-Kul to end a pole drought for Team Abu Dhabi.
2026 Championship Standings
Full points for every driver after the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan.
View Full StandingsThe Gulf Picture
Sharjah’s December date falls in a year of disruption for international sport in the Gulf, dating back to the start of the conflict in late February.
Formula 1 lost its April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to Sepang in Malaysia, where it runs this weekend, while the Saudi round has not been rescheduled. F1 had set a September deadline to decide whether Qatar and Abu Dhabi could host the final two rounds of its season; chief executive Stefano Domenicali has since confirmed the championship will end in Abu Dhabi as planned, on December 4-6 at Yas Marina.
The marine calendar has moved too. The Dubai International Boat Show switched from its original April 8-12 dates to November 25-29 at Dubai Harbour, and its organisers say the show will stay in November in future years. The UIM XCAT World Championship’s provisional calendar now runs to two rounds, both in the UAE: Fujairah on December 3-8 and Dubai on December 9-14.
Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) reported 869,000 international overnight visitors in August, the city’s strongest month since February, taking the January to August total to 6.97 million. Hotel occupancy reached 66% in August, up from 36% in March.
Air links from Europe return ahead of the winter season. DET says Emirates has restored 97% of its global network. Lufthansa resumes Munich-Dubai on October 25 and Frankfurt-Dubai on October 26, and SWISS restarts Zurich-Dubai on October 27. Eurowings returns from Berlin and Stuttgart on November 1, British Airways plans to restart London-Dubai with one daily flight from November 3, and Austrian Airlines resumes from Vienna on December 12.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not advise against travel to the UAE. Its current advice notes that the US and Iran announced a memorandum of understanding on June 17, but says the situation in the Middle East remains unpredictable, with strikes and retaliatory attacks by Iran against US military and civilian infrastructure in a number of locations across the region since July 8. It warns British nationals to be prepared for flight cancellations and airspace closures at short notice.
Sharjah sits around 15 kilometres from Dubai International Airport.
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.
