Hydro GP Jedovnice 2026: Rossi and Cremona Claim Perfect Scores

Gabriele Rossi and Massimiliano Cremona each won all three heats in their respective classes at the Hydro GP Jedovnice, the opening round of the UIM World Powerboat Championships in classes F-125, F-250 and F-500, held at Jedovnice lake in the Czech Republic on 16-17 May 2026.

The weekend’s storylines ran in the family. Giuseppe Rossi, Gabriele’s father, competed in F-500 and looked set for the podium after running second in the opener, but a wrong-way mark in Heat 2 brought a lap penalty and his engine then seized before Heat 3, ending his round prematurely. In F-250, Alessandro Cremona, Max’s older brother, made his first competitive return in over three years and came home fourth.

F-125

Rossi was untouchable across the weekend, winning all three heats to finish on a perfect 1,200 points. Luca Finotti came through to take second overall on 577 points, with third-place finishes in both the first and final heat. Nicolo Darai, who had held second on accumulated points after two heats, was excluded from Heat 3, which had been restarted after a race stoppage he was judged to have caused, and ended the weekend third on 525 points. Andrea Ongari and Henryk Synoracki finished level on 522 points, with Ongari taking fourth on countback.

Simona Fittavolini improved as the weekend progressed, recovering from a DNF in the opener to finish seventh overall. Davide Scarpa, making his senior championship debut, came ninth; he was coached trackside by Alessandro Cremona. Daniele Ghiraldi was below expectations, ending eleventh.

F-250

Cremona, a four-time world champion, was equally dominant in F-250, winning all three heats to match Rossi’s perfect 1,200-point score. His long-running duel with Nikola Todorov resumed exactly as it had ended in 2025, with the Bulgarian finishing second in every heat for 900 points. Among the drivers expected to challenge, Joonas Lember, Thomas Mantripp and Wayne Turner all finished below pre-event expectations. Pete Nydahl (USA) was the outstanding outsider, third overall on 619 points. Alessandro Cremona broke his main engine in qualifying on Saturday and ran the heats on his spare unit, which cost him pace early on; he came from fifth in Heat 1 to third in the final heat, finishing fourth overall on 521 points.

*Wayne Turner classified but scored no points in Heat 1; motor change recorded in Heats 1 and 2. †Pasquale Contento jump start penalty, Heat 1.

Massimiliano Cremona, speaking after the round:

It was a good start, although still a hard race. We had a few problems in practice, but managed to get pole position, which made a difference. The duel with Todorov was good – he is sharp and takes every opportunity. So we are even more pleased with first place. It does not mean anything yet because the championship is long, but these 20 points are on the board and give us confidence for Poland.

Alessandro Cremona on his return to competition:

It is great to be back racing. It was emotional, and I am satisfied with fourth place. We showed we are there and can fight with the front runners. On Saturday in qualifying we broke the main engine and had to run the spare, which meant chasing performance through the first couple of heats. But the final heat was very competitive and I managed to finish third with a good overtake. That gave me positive feelings for the rest of the season.

Lember’s seventh place carried a footnote of its own. The Estonian, who won the F-125 World Championship in 2022 before stepping up to F-250 this season, arrived at Jedovnice in a closed cockpit hull – the first pilot in the world to race an F-250 in that configuration. Every other competitor ran the traditional open prone boat. Closed cockpits are a known quantity in F1 and F2, but had never been used in F-250 competition before this weekend.

Joonas Lember:

The starts need a lot of work, but once I am in the race it goes well. I gained two places in the first heat. Very happy with how the weekend has gone.

F-500

Marcin Zielinski (POL) won F-500 despite a DNF in Heat 2, where a broken propeller ended his race, taking victories in Heats 1 and 3 to finish on 800 points. Attila Havas (HUN) made the most unlikely recovery of the weekend: he did not start Heat 1, then finished second in both remaining heats to take second overall on 600 points. Marian Jung (SVK) won Heat 2 but retired in Heat 3, ending third on 569 points.

*Giusseppe Rossi penalised -1 lap in Heat 2 (313.01, went round a mark the wrong way). †Erko Aabrams same penalty in Heat 3.

Giuseppe Rossi ran second in the opening heat and looked a realistic podium contender, but clipping a mark the wrong way in Heat 2 brought a lap penalty that dropped him to ninth. His engine then seized before Heat 3, ruling him out of the final race. He ended the weekend sixth overall – a frustrating result given how the round had started for him.

Aabrams showed strong race pace throughout, coming from the back to fifth in one heat despite technical problems with cold engine starting. He ended the round seventh overall and left Jedovnice with useful data from his first outing of the season.

Erko Aabrams:

The starts in the cold and corner entry have been a problem, but the race settings and speed are already in good shape. Got to enjoy the racing. The rust is off and we have the data now.

FR-1000 European Championship

Dietmar Kaiser (GER) won the FR-1000 European Championship, taking three of four heats to finish on 1,500 points. Tobias Kostecki (GER) was second on 1,125 points, Valdis Kukalks (LAT) third on 844. Jevgenijs Anikejevs (LAT) retired from the first three heats but won Heat 4 to finish fourth on 400 points.

Supporting classes

Adam Dolák (CZE) won the P-750 International Championship, taking all three heats.

The second round of the UIM World Powerboat Championship takes place at Hydro GP Znin in Poland on 29-31 May.