Newly crowned 2023 UIM F2 World Champion Rashed Al Qemzi added the season finale to his title, winning the Grand Prix of Portugal at Vila Velha de Ródão to round off the championship in style.
Fifteen drivers contested the 44-lap final round. Warm-up had seen Norway’s Tobias Munthe-Kaas set the weekend’s fastest lap at 44.963 seconds, but it was Al Qemzi who held pole for the race itself, with Edgaras Riabko alongside him and Portugal’s Duarte Benavente third on the grid.
At the start, Benavente got ahead of Riabko through the first turn to run second behind Al Qemzi, who pulled steadily clear of the field and led without serious challenge throughout.
Incident struck on lap 33 at the bottom turn where Munthe-Kaas and Mette Bjerknes were disputing ninth and tenth. Bjerknes moved to pass and the resulting contact sent Munthe-Kaas into a barrel roll. Bjerknes sustained damage and was also forced to retire. Sweden’s Mathilda Wiberg barrel-rolled out of the race separately, landing the correct way up but unable to continue. The race ran under yellow.
On the restart at lap 38, Colin Jelf got ahead of Johan Österberg to move up to eighth. The race returned to yellow for a further four laps before the green flag brought the field home over the final six laps.
Al Qemzi took the flag with Benavente behind him, but the Portuguese driver was penalised a lap for failing to maintain his lane at the start. That promoted Riabko to second and the UIM silver medal. Stefan Arand took the Grand Prix bronze and, in doing so, secured the world championship bronze medal as well, capping a Rookie of the Year season.
“Once I was out in front I just had to remain focused to secure the Grand Prix win. This one is for my team. I would like to thank all my team for all their hard work and special thanks to Guido Cappellini for all his support and belief in me as a driver.” Rashed Al Qemzi
Portuguese Motorboat Federation president Paulo Ferreira addressed the crowds after the podium presentations and used the occasion to confirm Portugal’s place on the 2024 calendar.
“Thank you to all my sponsors for helping us host this fantastic event. Congratulations to all the racers for some exhilarating racing and thank you to them all for travelling to compete here in Vila Velha de Ródão. I am proud to announce that once more in the 2024 season we will again host two rounds of the UIM F2 World Championship back to back in Portugal.” Paulo Ferreira, President, Portuguese Motorboat Federation
UIM F2 Grand Prix of Portugal – result
| Pos | Driver | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rashed Al Qemzi | UAE |
| 2 | Edgaras Riabko | Lithuania |
| 3 | Stefan Arand | Estonia |
| DNF | Tobias Munthe-Kaas | Norway |
| DNF | Mette Bjerknes | Great Britain |
| DNF | Mathilda Wiberg | Sweden |
UIM F2 World Championship – final standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rashed Al Qemzi | UAE | 75 |
| 2 | Edgaras Riabko | Lithuania | 44 |
| 3 | Stefan Arand | Estonia | 41 |
| 4 | Giacomo Sacchi | Monaco | 31 |
| 5 | Mansoor Al Mansoori | UAE | 25 |
| 6 | Colin Jelf | Great Britain | 23 |
| 7 | Johan Österberg | Sweden | 16 |
| 8 | Daniel Segenmark | Sweden | 15 |
| 9 | Mette Bjerknes | Great Britain | 15 |
| 10 | Samuel Lucas | Australia | 7 |
| 11 | Duarte Benavente | Portugal | 5 |
| 12 | Owen Jelf | Great Britain | 5 |
| 13 | Mathilda Wiberg | Sweden | 3 |
| 14 | Tobias Munthe-Kaas | Norway | 2 |
| 15 | Dainis Podžuks | Latvia | 2 |
| 16 | Totti Kemppainen | Finland | 1 |
| 17 | Tomas Cermak | Slovakia | 1 |
| 18 | Tullio Abbate | Italy | 1 |
| 19 | Egidijus Dagilis | Lithuania | 0 |
| 20 | Fabrice Boulier | France | 0 |
| 21 | Peter Žak | Slovakia | 0 |
| 22 | Nikita Lijos | Latvia | 0 |
| 23 | Stefan Hagin | Germany | 0 |
| 24 | Hector Sanz | Spain | 0 |
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.
