Andersson Tops Opening Practice in Zhengzhou

Jonas Andersson set the pace in opening practice for the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, lapping the Yellow River circuit in 45.527 seconds to head Erik Stark by just under half a second as the F1H2O World Championship began its third round weekend.

The teams face markedly different conditions just a two-hour flight from Shanghai. Whilst last week’s Grand Prix unfolded in humid coastal conditions on the Huangpu River, Zhengzhou’s inland location offers cooler, drier autumn weather. Temperatures have dropped from the mid-20s Celsius in Shanghai to around 13 degrees.

Andersson, the championship leader, completed 18 laps in the hour-long session, establishing himself at the top of the timesheets with a measured performance on the historic Chinese venue. Stark, who lies sixth in the standings, put in a strong showing for Team Abu Dhabi with 35 laps completed and was pleased with his first run on the circuit.

Grant Trask slotted into third for Team Sweden, 0.898 seconds off his team-mate’s benchmark, ahead of Rusty Wyatt in fourth. The Canadian, who sits just three points behind Andersson in the championship after his Shanghai barrel-roll retirement, completed only 12 laps but showed promising pace with a 46.590-second best.

Arand Shows Strong Form

Stefan Arand continued his impressive recent form with sixth-fastest time for the Sharjah Team. The young Estonian, who claimed his maiden pole position in Shanghai before charging from 19th to fourth in the Grand Prix, completed just eight laps but matched the pace of the frontrunners.

Peter Morin, running on home waters for China CTIC Team, posted the fifth-quickest time, whilst two-time World Champion Sami Seliö was seventh-fastest in his new Sharjah-designed hull for Red Devil-SMC F1 Team.

Three-time champion Shaun Torrente was eighth-fastest for Victory Team, more than two seconds adrift of Andersson’s pace. Team-mate Alec Weckström ended the session 14th and nearly three seconds off the ultimate pace.

Ben Jelf completed 22 laps for F1 Atlantic Team to finish tenth, whilst Mansoor Al Mansoori put in a solid shift for Team Abu Dhabi with 24 laps completed for 11th-fastest time.

Team Atlantic posted on social media: “A good free practice session for both drivers getting used to the conditions and prop testing. Another session in 30 minutes and we will try some different setups and look for extra speed.”

Deguisne Absent

Cédric Deguisne failed to register a lap time for Maverick Racing, whilst several drivers elected to complete minimal running in the opening session. Duarte Benavente managed just eight laps, with Alberto Comparato and Kyle Maskall each completing nine.

The second practice session begins at 12:00 local time (04:00 GMT), with a final practice scheduled for 15:00 before Saturday’s qualifying session.

Free Practice 1 Results

POS	#	DRIVER	LAPS	BEST LAP	GAP
1	1	Jonas Andersson	18	45.527	—
2	6	Erik Stark	35	45.999	+0.471
3	2	Grant Trask	19	46.425	+0.898
4	17	Rusty Wyatt	12	46.590	+1.063
5	7	Peter Morin	19	46.649	+1.122
6	18	Stefan Arand	8	46.734	+1.207
7	11	Sami Seliö	10	47.054	+1.526
8	4	Shaun Torrente	10	47.790	+2.263
9	98	Damon Cohen	9	47.977	+2.450
10	9	Ben Jelf	22	48.024	+2.497
11	5	Mansoor Al Mansoori	24	48.090	+2.563
12	50	Marit Strømøy	12	48.190	+2.663
13	12	Ferdinand Zandbergen	14	48.292	+2.765
14	3	Alec Weckström	17	48.486	+2.958
15	22	Kyle Maskall	9	48.650	+3.123
16	74	Alexandre Bourgeot	22	49.305	+3.777
17	97	Alberto Comparato	9	50.731	+5.204
18	10	Duarte Benavente	8	51.001	+5.474
19	77	Bartek Marszalek	8	51.923	+6.396
20	73	Cédric Deguisne	0	—	DNS