Shaun Torrente set the fastest time of the opening day at the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan, going quickest in Free Practice 2 to head the combined times as the UIM F1H2O World Championship raced for the first time at Lake Issyk-Kul.
The defending world champion’s 48.946 in the afternoon session beat Jonas Andersson, who had topped the morning’s Free Practice 1 with a 49.942 before slipping to second fastest overall. Round two of the 2026 season is the highest-altitude race in the championship’s history, at 1,607 metres above sea level, and championship leader Stefan Arand had warned before testing began that the field could lose over 100 horsepower to the thin air. Arand’s own prediction of lap times close to the one-minute mark proved pessimistic for the front-runners, with the fastest boats comfortably inside 50 seconds by the end of the day.
Free Practice 1
Andersson’s Team Abu Dhabi boat led from Shaun Torrente and Arand, with Grant Trask, Rashed Al Qemzi and Alec Weckstrom completing the top six. Duarte Benavente did not set a time after engine trouble sidelined the Atlantic Team boat before he could get a representative lap in, and Brent Dillard also failed to post a time.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Best Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jonas Andersson | Team Abu Dhabi | 23 | 00:49.942 | |
| 2 | 1 | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team | 21 | 00:50.145 | +0.203 |
| 3 | 18 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team | 28 | 00:50.355 | +0.413 |
| 4 | 35 | Rashed Al Qemzi | Team Abu Dhabi | 25 | 00:50.510 | +0.568 |
| 5 | 19 | Grant Trask | Sharjah Team | 7 | 00:50.581 | +0.639 |
| 6 | 3 | Alec Weckstrom | Victory Team | 26 | 00:50.678 | +0.736 |
| 7 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | Stromoy Racing | 36 | 00:50.692 | +0.750 |
| 8 | 6 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi | 26 | 00:51.073 | +1.130 |
| 9 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | Sharjah Team | 20 | 00:51.144 | +1.202 |
| 10 | 50 | Marit Stromoy | Stromoy Racing | 28 | 00:51.409 | +1.467 |
| 11 | 9 | Ben Jelf | Atlantic Team | 27 | 00:51.695 | +1.752 |
| 12 | 88 | Stefan Hagin | China CTIC Team | 29 | 00:51.855 | +1.912 |
| 13 | 44 | Alberto Comparato | Comparato Racing | 15 | 00:52.937 | +2.995 |
| 14 | 11 | Sami Selio | Comparato Racing | 6 | 00:54.128 | +4.186 |
| 15 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | Maverick F1 Team | 34 | 00:54.661 | +4.719 |
| 16 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | Maverick F1 Team | 9 | 00:55.537 | +5.594 |
| 17 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | Atlantic Team | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| 18 | 8 | Brent Dillard | China CTIC Team | 0 | N/A | N/A |
Jonas Andersson:
The circuit now is very small and short, so with this high altitude we need to get the best out of this package we have but the first practice was good.
Free Practice 2
Torrente went fastest in the afternoon, with Andersson again second and Marit Stromoy jumping from tenth in the morning to third, ahead of Erik Stark and Trask. Stromoy is one of only two drivers in the field running the Mercury Racing 360 APX four-stroke, alongside Cédric Deguisne, and her improvement across the two sessions was the largest of any driver inside the top ten. Deguisne’s own times moved the other way, from 15th to 16th, so the four-stroke’s altitude advantage did not repeat itself across both boats running it.
Benavente did not take part in the second session, recorded as DNS. Brent Dillard did complete laps this time, setting a 52.502 for 14th.
| Pos | No | Driver | Laps | Best Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Shaun Torrente | 6 | 00:48.946 | |
| 2 | 5 | Jonas Andersson | 28 | 00:49.198 | +0.251 |
| 3 | 50 | Marit Stromoy | 21 | 00:49.255 | +0.308 |
| 4 | 6 | Erik Stark | 23 | 00:49.656 | +0.710 |
| 5 | 19 | Grant Trask | 8 | 00:50.044 | +1.098 |
| 6 | 35 | Rashed Al Qemzi | 26 | 00:50.113 | +1.166 |
| 7 | 3 | Alec Weckstrom | 17 | 00:50.259 | +1.312 |
| 8 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | 26 | 00:50.621 | +1.675 |
| 9 | 18 | Stefan Arand | 19 | 00:51.304 | +2.358 |
| 10 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | 12 | 00:51.427 | +2.480 |
| 11 | 44 | Alberto Comparato | 24 | 00:51.438 | +2.491 |
| 12 | 88 | Stefan Hagin | 22 | 00:51.925 | +2.978 |
| 13 | 9 | Ben Jelf | 16 | 00:52.136 | +3.189 |
| 14 | 8 | Brent Dillard | 12 | 00:52.502 | +3.556 |
| 15 | 11 | Sami Selio | 17 | 00:53.132 | +4.186 |
| 16 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | 20 | 00:54.905 | +5.958 |
| 17 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 19 | 00:55.492 | +6.546 |
| 18 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | N/A | DNS | N/A |
Torrente’s Victory Team boat was rebuilt after he crashed out in the final race at Cagliari on May 31, one of the five barrel-rolls that weekend.
Shaun Torrente:
The guys did a really good job getting the boat back together after I crashed it. We made some set-up changes for Free Practice 2 and honestly the boat was great.
Top 10, Combined Best Times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Best Lap | Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team | 00:48.946 | FP2 |
| 2 | Jonas Andersson | Team Abu Dhabi | 00:49.198 | FP2 |
| 3 | Marit Stromoy | Stromoy Racing | 00:49.255 | FP2 |
| 4 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi | 00:49.656 | FP2 |
| 5 | Grant Trask | Sharjah Team | 00:50.044 | FP2 |
| 6 | Rashed Al Qemzi | Team Abu Dhabi | 00:50.113 | FP2 |
| 7 | Alec Weckstrom | Victory Team | 00:50.259 | FP2 |
| 8 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team | 00:50.355 | FP1 |
| 9 | Bartek Marszalek | Stromoy Racing | 00:50.621 | FP2 |
| 10 | Rusty Wyatt | Sharjah Team | 00:51.144 | FP1 |
Nine of the ten fastest combined times came from Free Practice 2, run later in the day. Only Arand’s FP1 time from Friday morning survived into the top ten.
More from Issyk-Kul, including qualifying, will follow. Read the full preview for the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan, or check the full 2026 championship standings ahead of round two.
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.
