Weckström Surges To Second in Dramatic Final Practice
Alec Weckström produced a stunning late surge to snatch second place in final practice, the Victory Team driver finding nearly three seconds of improvement to post a 45.848-second lap and transform his qualifying prospects.
Rusty Wyatt maintained his position at the top of the timesheets with a 45.753-second lap, but the session belonged to Weckström, who had languished in 14th and 16th during the opening two sessions with just two laps completed in second practice.
The Finn completed 19 laps to finish just 0.095 seconds behind Wyatt, offering Victory Team crucial encouragement after a difficult practice day. Championship leader Jonas Andersson, Ben Jelf and Sami Seliö elected not to run, choosing to preserve equipment ahead of Saturday’s qualifying.
Strømøy Finds Form
Marit Strømøy emerged as another late improver, vaulting from 11th to eighth with a 46.342-second lap after completing 21 laps. The Norwegian’s dramatic improvement mirrored Weckström’s breakthrough, finding over a second from her earlier efforts.
Shaun Torrente held third ahead of Stefan Arand, with the Sharjah Team duo completing a strong practice programme. Bartek Marszalek maintained fourth position for Strømøy Racing, whilst Peter Morin claimed sixth for China CTIC Team.
Erik Stark rounded out the top seven for Team Abu Dhabi, ahead of Strømøy and Grant Trask. Kyle Maskall completed the top ten for China CTIC Team.
Comparato Shows Improvement
Alberto Comparato found significant pace to claim 11th with a 47.429-second lap after completing 29 laps, ahead of Ferdinand Zandbergen and Mansoor Al Mansoori. Alexandre Bourgeot, Duarte Benavente and Cédric Deguisne completed the order.
Qualifying begins at 09:00 local time on Saturday morning (01:00 GMT), followed by the two sprint races in the afternoon.
Free Practice 3 Results
| POS | # | DRIVER | LAPS | BEST LAP | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | 12 | 45.753 | — |
| 2 | 3 | Alec Weckström | 19 | 45.848 | +0.095 |
| 3 | 4 | Shaun Torrente | 20 | 46.004 | +0.250 |
| 4 | 18 | Stefan Arand | 22 | 46.050 | +0.296 |
| 5 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | 24 | 46.177 | +0.424 |
| 6 | 7 | Peter Morin | 18 | 46.208 | +0.454 |
| 7 | 6 | Erik Stark | 20 | 46.282 | +0.528 |
| 8 | 50 | Marit Strømøy | 21 | 46.342 | +0.589 |
| 9 | 2 | Grant Trask | 19 | 46.520 | +0.767 |
| 10 | 22 | Kyle Maskall | 17 | 47.175 | +1.421 |
| 11 | 97 | Alberto Comparato | 29 | 47.429 | +1.675 |
| 12 | 12 | Ferdinand Zandbergen | 24 | 47.588 | +1.834 |
| 13 | 5 | Mansoor Al Mansoori | 27 | 48.313 | +2.559 |
| 14 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 24 | 48.368 | +2.614 |
| 15 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | 4 | 49.372 | +3.618 |
| 16 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | 7 | 51.623 | +5.869 |
| 17 | 1 | Jonas Andersson | 0 | — | DNS |
| 18 | 9 | Ben Jelf | 0 | — | DNS |
| 19 | 11 | Sami Seliö | 0 | — | DNS |
Combined Practice Times – Top 10
| POS | # | DRIVER | BEST LAP | SESSION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | 45.366 | FP2 |
| 2 | 1 | Jonas Andersson | 45.527 | FP1 |
| 3 | 4 | Shaun Torrente | 45.585 | FP2 |
| 4 | 18 | Stefan Arand | 45.590 | FP2 |
| 5 | 6 | Erik Stark | 45.636 | FP2 |
| 6 | 3 | Alec Weckström | 45.848 | FP3 |
| 7 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | 46.177 | FP3 |
| 8 | 7 | Peter Morin | 46.208 | FP3 |
| 9 | 50 | Marit Strømøy | 46.342 | FP3 |
| 10 | 2 | Grant Trask | 46.425 | FP1 |
John Moore has a longstanding involvement in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism. He organised the historic Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013 and was actively involved with British offshore racing from 2017 until 2025.
In 2017, Moore founded Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news, insights, and event coverage.
He is now Editor of Powerboat.News, continuing to contribute to the sport’s media landscape with in-depth reporting and analysis.
