Sharjah Team have announced they will field three boats at every Grand Prix of the 2026 UIM F1H2O World Championship, with Australian Grant Trask confirmed as the new teammate to returning drivers Rusty Wyatt and Stefan Arand. Filip Roms has been retained as reserve driver.
The UAE-based squad finished second in the 2025 Teams World Championship behind Victory Team, with Wyatt and Arand combining to deliver a series of strong results across the season’s five rounds. The expansion to three boats signals a clear intent to challenge for the Teams’ title they have yet to win.
Wyatt: back-to-back Indonesia wins
Rusty Wyatt opened the 2025 season in the best possible fashion, winning the inaugural Grand Prix of Indonesia – repeating the win he had scored in Indonesia in 2024 on his very first F1H2O start. The Canadian carried the championship lead deep into the season before two failures to finish, in Shanghai and Jeddah, cost him the title. A string of podium finishes at the other rounds delivered third place in the 2025 Drivers World Championship, one position below his runner-up finish in 2024.
Arand: maiden win on home water
Stefan Arand capped his second F1H2O season with his first Grand Prix victory, leading from the front in the championship finale at Sharjah to win by 12.594 seconds. The Estonian had already announced himself as the youngest driver in the Championship’s history to claim pole position, at Shanghai in October, before an engine change on race morning forced him to start 19th. His recovery drive to fourth that afternoon, having passed boat after boat on the Huangpu River, was one of the performances of the season. He ended the year fourth in the Drivers Championship, far above his tenth-place finish as a 2024 rookie.
Trask: a driver on the rise
Grant Trask arrives at Sharjah Team as one of the Championship’s more compelling stories. The Brisbane driver, who races without his prosthetic leg after losing his right leg in a truck accident at the age of five, made his F1H2O debut with Emic Racing a decade ago and spent years in the mid-pack before the 2025 season changed everything. He recorded 24 Grand Prix starts across nine years before his breakthrough.
Powerboat racing runs in the family. His father Bob competed in F1H2O from 2002 to 2008; uncle David raced from 2004 to 2008, collecting podiums and pole positions along the way. Before making his international circuit debut, Trask won the Australian F3 championship in 2006 and the Australian F2 title in 2007 and 2008.
He started 2025 with the China CTIC Team at the Grand Prix of Indonesia before joining Team Sweden for the remainder of the season, finishing sixth in the Drivers Championship with 67 points. His two podiums arrived at the back end of the year. Third place at the Grand Prix of Shanghai was his first-ever World Championship podium, which he celebrated by performing the “leggie” he had long promised when he reached the top three – removing his prosthetic in the boat. Second place at the Grand Prix of Sharjah followed, with Trask pushing Arand hard through the closing laps before crossing the line less than 13 seconds behind. His performances helped Team Sweden finish third in the 2025 Teams World Championship.
Trask was unavailable for comment; F1H2O published the announcement during the middle of the night in Australia.
2026 line-up
Rusty Wyatt
Two-time Indonesia Grand Prix winner. Third in the 2025 Drivers World Championship. Runner-up in 2024.
Stefan Arand
2025 Grand Prix of Sharjah winner. Youngest-ever F1H2O pole-sitter. Fourth in the 2025 Drivers World Championship.
Grant Trask
Two podiums in 2025 – Shanghai (3rd) and Sharjah (2nd). Sixth in the 2025 Drivers Championship with 67 points.
Filip Roms
Retained as reserve driver for the 2026 season.
Team Confirmation Table
| Team Name | Country | Team Manager | Debut Year | Drivers | Numbers | Engine Type | Hull Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharjah Team | 🇦🇪 U.A.E. | Scott Gillman | 2000 | Rusty Wyatt 🇨🇦 Stefan Arand 🇪🇪 Grant Trask 🇦🇺 Filip Roms 🇫🇮 (reserve) |
17 18 TBC 55 |
Mercury 2-stroke Mercury 2-stroke Mercury 2-stroke Mercury 2-stroke |
– – – – |
| Strømøy Racing | 🇳🇴 Norway | Andrea Colombo | 2021 | Marit Strømøy 🇳🇴 Bartek Marszalek 🇵🇱 |
50 77 |
Mercury 360 APX 4-stroke V8 Mercury 2-stroke |
DAC DAC |
| Maverick Racing | 🇫🇷 France | Jean Vital Deguisne | – | Cédric Deguisne 🇫🇷 Alexandre Bourgeot 🇫🇷 Beranger Robart 🇫🇷 (reserve) |
73 74 – |
Mercury 360 APX 4-stroke V8 Mercury 2-stroke Mercury 2-stroke |
Moore Moore Moore |
| Atlantic Team | 🇵🇹 Portugal | – | – | Duarte Benavente 🇵🇹 Ben Jelf 🇬🇧 |
10 9 |
Mercury 2-stroke Mercury 2-stroke |
Moore DAC |
Sharjah Team have never won the F1H2O Teams World Championship. Second place in 2025, behind Victory Team, is the closest they have come. The three-boat line-up for 2026 represents their most ambitious attempt to close that gap.
Background: Trask: Where Now?
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.
