Kazakhstan has signed an agreement to host a UIM F1H2O World Championship round at the Kapchagay Reservoir in Qonaev, Almaty region, in 2027, just as F1H2O’s actual first Central Asian race weekend got underway on Thursday, July 30, at Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.
The two stories broke within hours of each other. In Kazakhstan, the Almaty region governor’s office announced it had signed a cooperation agreement with F1H2O representatives, the Kazakhstan-based investment and development company iHolding, and an official Saudi Arabian delegation. In Kyrgyzstan, H2O Racing’s own leadership opened the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan press conference by confirming that other Central Asian nations are already in talks to follow Kyrgyzstan’s lead.
Kazakhstan’s 2027 Bid
According to the Almaty region governor’s press service, the agreement covers a stage of the championship at Qonaev in 2027, with the reservoir potentially hosting the event annually for five years if the project goes ahead. If realised, Kazakhstan would become the sixth country to host a round of the championship. The story was first reported by Kursiv.media and Kazakh state broadcaster 24.kz.
The Kapchagay Reservoir already carries an international sporting calendar of its own, hosting the Tengri Ultra ultramarathon and the Oceanman open-water swimming event each year. Marat Sultangaziyev, governor of the Almaty region, framed the F1H2O agreement in those same tourism and development terms.
Marat Sultangaziyev, governor of the Almaty region
Hosting such international competitions promotes tourism and creates new opportunities for the region’s social and economic development. That is why we are ready to jointly implement this project.
Organisers expect the stage to draw at least 5,000 foreign visitors, on top of local spectators and tourists. Plans described in the release include VIP areas, a race control centre, team paddocks, a media centre, family recreation areas and a closing concert, broadly mirroring the infrastructure F1H2O has built for this week’s Kyrgyzstan round.
Yasser Ali Al-Yami, chairman of KSA ProMediaPortal and described in the release as an F1H2O representative, said the championship currently unites teams from 11 countries. He added that organisers had studied the Almaty region’s development potential closely, and that Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan already have a strong partnership he expects to grow, with the region becoming an international business hub in time.
What the release does not include is any comment from H2O Racing, UIM or F1H2O’s own channels. Nothing on H2O Racing’s website, social media or the UIM’s own communications currently references Kazakhstan, and the document signed in Almaty is a cooperation agreement rather than a formal addition to the UIM calendar. PBN has read the Almaty governor’s press release in full and will update this story if H2O Racing or UIM issue their own confirmation.
2026 F1H2O World Championship Standings
See where Stefan Arand and his rivals sit before Issyk-Kul.
View Full Standings“We Will Not Be the Last”
Proceedings for the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan opened on Thursday morning with a press conference at Issyk-Kul for international and local media. On the panel were Eduard Kubatov, Director of the Kyrgyz State Agency for Tourism Development; Aibek Abylkasymov, Chairman of the Kyrgyzstan Water Motor Sports Federation; Nicolò di San Germano, founder of H2O Racing; Raimondo di San Germano, CEO of H2O Racing; and F1H2O drivers Shaun Torrente, Stefan Arand and Marit Strømøy.
Kubatov opened by praising the speed with which the paddock area on the Issyk-Kul shoreline had been built, and the environmental work carried out ahead of the race, including clean-up projects run by volunteers in the weeks before the Grand Prix. Nicolò di San Germano echoed the environmental emphasis, tying the health of the water directly to the sport his championship depends on, and marked the moment as F1H2O’s first race in Central Asia, more than four decades after he founded the series.
It was Raimondo di San Germano who supplied the line that connects this week’s race to the Kazakhstan news. He told journalists that although Issyk-Kul is the first F1H2O Grand Prix in the region, he does not expect it to be the last. In recent weeks, he said, representatives from numerous other Central Asian countries have been in contact to start working towards hosting a Grand Prix of their own, and he credited Kyrgyzstan with proving the region’s readiness to stage an event of this scale.
Neither H2O Racing nor F1H2O named Kazakhstan directly at Thursday’s press conference. The timing puts Raimondo di San Germano’s comments and the Almaty agreement in the same week, but PBN has not established a direct link between the two, and readers should treat them as separate developments that happen to have landed together.
Kyrgyzstan’s Race Weekend
The press conference closed with questions for the three drivers present, who set out their ambitions for the weekend and the season. The full driver roster, including championship leader Stefan Arand, takes to the water for the first time on Friday, July 31, for free practice, ahead of Sunday’s main race at Issyk-Kul.
F1H2O Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan: Everything You Need to Know
Full timetable, ticket prices and venue information for this weekend’s race.
Read the Full Preview
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.
