Alec Weckström won the Grand Prix of Shanghai on Monday to complete a weekend sweep of pole position, Sprint Race 1 and the Grand Prix for Victory Team. The 45-lap race brought three yellow flags and only nine finishers. Weckström’s team-mate Shaun Torrente retired after a collision with him, and Stefan Arand finished second to move to the top of the championship with one round to go.
Arand finished 2.243 seconds behind for Sharjah Team, with team-mate Grant Trask third. Arand now leads Trask by nine points, with Weckström and Torrente tied on 50, 10 points off the lead. The championship goes to the final round in Sharjah on December 18-20.
Start and First Yellow
Weckström converted pole into the lead at the first turn, ahead of Torrente and Arand. At the back, Jonas Andersson started last after an engine change and gained several places on the opening lap, nearly making contact with Ben Jelf, according to F1H2O.
The first yellow flag came on lap 2. Brent Dillard flipped his China CTIC Team boat at the right-hander while following Rashed Al Qemzi through his spray. The yellow wiped out the lead of almost three seconds that Weckström had built.
Torrente’s Exit
At the restart, Torrente went for the lead at the same right-hander. F1H2O reports that Weckström took the turn wide and Torrente went for the gap, but there was not enough room. Torrente made contact with the right side of his team-mate’s boat and spun out, and was classified as retiring on lap 16.
The four-time world champion came to Shanghai leading the championship and leaves 10 points behind, with only Sharjah remaining. Weckström’s boat was undamaged and he kept the lead.
Weckström Holds Off Arand
Arand attacked as soon as racing resumed, and the pair ran side by side through the first few turns. Weckström held on, but was never able to pull more than about three seconds clear.
With 16 laps to go, Weckström ran wide and made contact with the lapped Atlantic Team boat of Ben Jelf. The boats bounced off each other and Weckström kept the lead. Jelf, who had earlier slowed to close his canopy, retired when his boat began taking on water.
“Like normal, I went completely wide, left them plenty of space, and I couldn’t have got much wider in all honesty,” Jelf said. “From what I’ve watched back, Alec hit a wave and bounced over and hit into me. In some instances you may say it’s still avoidable, but I’ll leave that to the officials to decide.”
Jelf said Weckström came to find him after the race.
“After everything, Alec apologised. He came over and shook my hand, which I have a lot of respect for.”
Third Yellow and Final Restart
Two laps later, Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt stopped on the course with a mechanical problem, bringing out the third yellow flag. Al Qemzi had also retired.
Racing resumed with 11 laps to go and nine boats left. Trask and Andersson made the best of the restart, each passing Alberto Comparato, Stefan Hagin and Sami Selio to move up to third and fourth.
Arand stayed within reach of Weckström but was nursing a broken propeller. He began the final lap 1.096 seconds behind, and crossed the line 2.243 seconds back. Andersson finished fourth, ahead of Selio, Hagin, Marit Strømøy, Erik Stark and Comparato.
Weckström also won Sprint Race 1 on Sunday, while Torrente beat Arand in Sprint Race 2. Full sprint report.
Grand Prix of Shanghai Result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laps | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alec Weckström | Victory Team | 45 | 20 | |
| 2 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team | 45 | +2.243 | 15 |
| 3 | Grant Trask | Sharjah Team | 45 | +4.279 | 12 |
| 4 | Jonas Andersson | Team Abu Dhabi | 45 | +10.283 | 9 |
| 5 | Sami Selio | Comparato Racing | 45 | +18.575 | 7 |
| 6 | Stefan Hagin | China CTIC Team | 45 | +21.630 | 5 |
| 7 | Marit Strømøy | Stromoy Racing | 45 | +32.000 | 4 |
| 8 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi | 45 | +34.148 | 3 |
| 9 | Alberto Comparato | Comparato Racing | 45 | +30.280 | 2 |
| DNF | Rashed Al Qemzi | Team Abu Dhabi | 31 | 0 | |
| DNF | Rusty Wyatt | Sharjah Team | 30 | 0 | |
| DNF | Ben Jelf | Atlantic Team | 28 | 0 | |
| DNF | Duarte Benavente | Atlantic Team | 24 | 0 | |
| DNF | Cédric Deguisne | Maverick Racing | 23 | 0 | |
| DNF | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team | 16 | 0 | |
| DNF | Brent Dillard | China CTIC Team | 2 | 0 | |
| DNS | Alexandre Bourgeot | Maverick Racing | 0 | 0 | |
| DNS | Bartek Marszalek | Stromoy Racing | 0 | 0 |
Championship After Shanghai
| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team | 60 |
| 2 | Grant Trask | Sharjah Team | 51 |
| =3 | Alec Weckström | Victory Team | 50 |
| =3 | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team | 50 |
| 5 | Jonas Andersson | Team Abu Dhabi | 47 |
| 6 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi | 33 |
2026 Championship Standings
Every driver’s points, round by round, after the Grand Prix of Shanghai.
View Full Standings
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.
