Nils Slakteris is the 2026 UIM F4 European Champion, sealing the title on home water at Lake Alūksne, Latvia with the maximum score available.
It is the first European title of his F4 career, adding to the UIM F4 World Championship he won at Viverone last September and the UIM GT15 European Championship he claimed back in 2020.
Heat 3 was declared void for the entire field after both start attempts ended in accidents, so only three heats produced points across the whole weekend.
Slakteris won all three.
Nils Slakteris finishes on 1,200 points from three heat wins, the highest total possible once Heat 3 returned nothing for anyone.
The void came after a chaotic start to Sunday’s programme.
Two boats flipped on the first start attempt, and two more flipped on the restart. Under the rules, only one restart is permitted, so the heat was scrapped with no points awarded to any driver.
That left Heat 4 to settle the title outright.
Slakteris started from pole, having topped the timesheets all weekend, and led home Sweden’s Adam Wrenkler by 3.332 seconds. Attila Horváth, the only other driver still within reach of the championship, recorded no time in the race.
Provisional results, pending post-race technical inspection.
| Pos | Driver | Nat | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Heat 3 | Heat 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nils Slakteris | LAT | 400 | 400 | 0 | 400 | 1200 |
| 2 | Adam Wrenkler | SWE | 225 | 225 | 0 | 300 | 750 |
| 3 | Attila Horváth | HUN | 300 | 300 | ACC | ACC | 600 |
| 4 | Ardis Slakteris | LAT | 95 | 169 | 0 | 225 | 489 |
| 5 | Oliver Martin | FIN | 169 | 95 | 0 | 53 | 317 |
| 6 | Noel Vänttinen | FIN | 53 | 30 | 0 | 169 | 252 |
| 7 | Matas Kvizikevicius | LTU | 127 | 53 | 0 | 40 | 220 |
| 8 | Niklāvs Rimeicāns | LAT | 17 | 40 | 0 | 127 | 184 |
| 9 | Renārs Spacs | LAT | 40 | 127 | ACC | DNF | 167 |
| 10 | Roberts Minings | LAT | 71 | 71 | ACC | DNS | 142 |
| 11 | Torsten Stangenberg | GER | 22 | 17 | 0 | 71 | 110 |
| 12 | Paulius Stainys | LTU | DNF | DNF | DNS | 95 | 95 |
| 13 | Arthur Sundback | FIN | 30 | 22 | 0 | 30 | 82 |
| 14 | William Leithe Martinsen | NOR | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 0 |
| 14 | Wilhelm Sundberg | FIN | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 0 |
| 14 | Simon Jung | SVK | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 0 |
Wrenkler’s second place in Heat 4 moved him above Horváth in the final standings.
Horváth had won Heat 1 and Heat 2 alongside Slakteris. He arrived at Heat 4 needing only a strong result to stay in the fight. His race ended without a classified time.
Ardis Slakteris finished fourth overall, in his second season in the class. Nils’s younger brother took over the family’s number 51 for 2026 and won on his World Championship debut at Klaipėda in June.
Slakteris stepped up to UIM F2 for 2026 and made his debut for RIGA Powerboat Racing at Klaipėda. Alūksne was a return to the class he left as world champion. He leaves it again with the European title that had been missing from his record.
The result does not affect the separate 2026 UIM F4 World Championship. Ardis Slakteris and Adam Wrenkler remain tied at the top of those standings after the opening round at Klaipėda.
More UIM F4 Coverage
Follow the 2026 season, standings and driver profiles as the championship continues.
UIM F4 Coverage
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.
