Alec Weckström claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory to seize the championship lead after Jonas Andersson’s calamitous afternoon saw the defending champion spin from pole position at the start before retiring with technical issues.
The Victory Team driver controlled the 36-lap race in challenging conditions to head team-mate Shaun Torrente by 3.91 seconds and secure a commanding one-two finish that transforms the title race with two rounds remaining.
Weckström challenged Andersson off the line in rain and rough water on the Yellow River. The Swede spun and dropped to ninth, then fell further back before retiring on lap 24.
The championship leader’s retirement handed Weckström a 16-point advantage heading to the next round, with Torrente second and Rusty Wyatt third in the standings. Andersson, who led by three points coming into the weekend, dropped from first to fourth.
Weckström Manages Pressure
The 30-year-old from Helsinki, who raced against Formula One stars Max Verstappen, George Russell, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris in karting between the ages of eight and 13, delivered a composed drive to secure his breakthrough victory just 24 hours after claiming his maiden sprint race win.
Weckström admitted the pressure of managing lapped traffic whilst holding off Torrente proved challenging:
Amazing, feels like a dream. I still can’t believe I have my first race win and 1-2 for the team, me and Shaun. It’s everything the team deserves and we delivered today and I’m really proud of the whole team. The whole weekend we worked flawlessly.
We were fine with the pace, just had some, let’s say I don’t trust the lapped guys, so I’m taking it easy. Every time they come in front, particularly a few of them, I take it a little easy. Then the guys close again. You just have to manage because you don’t want to flip then you get zero points.
Three times a lap I checked where Shaun is, so I knew all the time where he was. I needed to know if I have to push or if this is OK pace. I was managing the gap all the time.
Torrente Eyes Sharjah Showdown
Torrente delivered a mature performance to claim second place and move to within seven points of the championship lead, the American holding off a sustained challenge from Wyatt to secure the Victory Team one-two.
The three-time World Champion praised his team’s preparation:
What a team win, fun to drive. I could manage Rusty, so proud of the team. Two blue boats up front. Keep getting the points and show up to Sharjah with a chance to win the championship. We don’t need luck, we need preparation.
Wyatt claimed third for the Sharjah Team to move within one point of Torrente in the standings, the Canadian finishing just over six seconds behind the winner after a consistent drive in the difficult conditions.
Stark Overcomes Balance Issues
Erik Stark produced an impressive performance to finish fourth for Team Abu Dhabi, the Swede clearly resolving the balance issues with his DAC hull that had troubled him during practice. Stark completed the race 14 seconds behind Weckström to claim valuable championship points.
Peter Morin delighted the home crowd with fifth place for China CTIC Team, the Frenchman posting the fastest lap of the race at 47.602 seconds.
Stefan Arand claimed sixth for the Sharjah Team after nearly dramatically crashing out, ahead of Sami Seliö and Ferdinand Zandbergen.
Seliö Pleased Despite Difficult Weekend
Sami Seliö guided his Red Devil-SMC F1 entry to seventh place, with team-mate Ferdinand Zandbergen finishing eighth after both drivers overcame challenging starting positions.
The Finnish driver reflected on the team’s performance:
Tough races in China behind us… We did what we could and both boats finished… I myself 7th place and Ferdinand 8th place… Quite an OK result for bad starting positions… Fortunately, new updates are coming for the next race in Saudi Arabia…. We Never Give Up…
Damon Cohen and Kyle Maskall rounded out the points finishers, both completing the race one lap down.
Trask’s Weekend Unravels
Grant Trask suffered a technical failure after his promising weekend unravelled, the Team Sweden driver retiring after just seven laps.
Ben Jelf’s race for F1 Atlantic Team ended in disappointment after initially powering up to 11th position. Following a course infringement and trim issues, the British driver was forced to retire from the race after 18 laps.
Strømøy Sidelined by Battery Failure
Marit Strømøy was unable to start the race after suffering a critical power steering failure during the parade lap.
The Strømøy Racing driver explained:
A broken battery forced me to retire from the race before it even started. During the parade lap I had a failure in the power steering and had a feeling something was not right. Already on the start straight the steering jammed and that was it!
The championship continues with the Grand Prix of Jeddah on November 27-29, with Weckström holding a 16-point advantage over Torrente as the title race heads towards its conclusion in Sharjah in late December.
GRAND PRIX OF ZHENGZHOU, CHINA RESULTS
POS |
# |
DRIVER |
TEAM |
LAPS |
BEST LAP |
TIME/GAP |
PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
3 |
Alec Weckström |
Victory Team |
36 |
48.668 |
Race Time |
20 |
2 |
4 |
Shaun Torrente |
Victory Team |
36 |
48.818 |
+3.910s |
15 |
3 |
17 |
Rusty Wyatt |
Sharjah Team |
36 |
48.539 |
+6.050s |
12 |
4 |
6 |
Erik Stark |
Team Abu Dhabi |
36 |
49.297 |
+14.039s |
9 |
5 |
7 |
Peter Morin |
China CTIC Team |
36 |
47.602 |
+15.808s |
7 |
6 |
18 |
Stefan Arand |
Sharjah Team |
36 |
47.834 |
+17.375s |
5 |
7 |
11 |
Sami Seliö |
Red Devil-SMC F1 |
36 |
49.261 |
+38.421s |
4 |
8 |
12 |
Ferdinand Zandbergen |
Red Devil-SMC F1 |
36 |
49.289 |
+40.972s |
3 |
9 |
98 |
Damon Cohen |
Comparato F1 |
35 |
50.213 |
+1 Lap |
2 |
10 |
22 |
Kyle Maskall |
China CTIC Team |
35 |
49.829 |
+1 Lap |
1 |
11 |
5 |
Mansoor Al Mansoori |
Team Abu Dhabi |
33 |
50.848 |
+3 Laps |
0 |
12 |
10 |
Duarte Benavente |
F1 Atlantic Team |
33 |
52.033 |
+3 Laps |
0 |
13 |
74 |
Alexandre Bourgeot |
Maverick Racing |
33 |
51.742 |
+3 Laps |
0 |
14 |
73 |
Cédric Deguisne |
Maverick Racing |
32 |
51.773 |
+4 Laps |
0 |
15 |
1 |
Jonas Andersson |
Team Sweden |
24 |
48.637 |
+12 Laps |
0 |
16 |
9 |
Ben Jelf |
F1 Atlantic Team |
18 |
50.385 |
DNF |
0 |
17 |
77 |
Bartek Marszalek |
Strømøy Racing |
13 |
50.460 |
DNF |
0 |
18 |
2 |
Grant Trask |
Team Sweden |
7 |
49.814 |
DNF |
0 |
19 |
97 |
Alberto Comparato |
Comparato F1 |
3 |
54.176 |
DNF |
0 |
20 |
50 |
Marit Strømøy |
Strømøy Racing |
0 |
— |
DNS |
0 |
F1H2O CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
POS |
# |
DRIVER |
TEAM |
POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
3 |
Alec Weckström |
Victory Team |
66 |
2 |
4 |
Shaun Torrente |
Victory Team |
59 |
3 |
17 |
Rusty Wyatt |
Sharjah Team |
58 |
4 |
1 |
Jonas Andersson |
Team Sweden |
50 |
5 |
2 |
Grant Trask |
Team Sweden |
40 |
6 |
6 |
Erik Stark |
Team Abu Dhabi |
39 |
7 |
18 |
Stefan Arand |
Sharjah Team |
37 |
John Moore’s 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 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
