Sara Misir will race for Aoki Racing Team in the 2026 UIM E1 World Championship, the team announced via social media on Thursday.
The Jamaican driver joins from Team Blue Rising, where she finished third overall in the 2025 championship. She will partner with Dani Clos, who helped deliver Aoki Racing Team’s breakthrough season in 2025.
From Track to Water
Misir, 27, first represented Jamaica as a junior equestrian before a life-changing accident at 16 altered her sporting trajectory. While training for the Pan American Games, she suffered a fractured skull and jaw after being kicked by her horse, requiring five surgical procedures and six months of recovery.
Seven months after returning to equestrian competition, another fall broke her shoulder. Her father, Jamaica Karting Association President Rugie Misir, introduced her to karting as an alternative.
The switch proved transformative. In 2022, Misir became the first Caribbean woman selected for Formula Woman, winning one of four places from 10,000 applicants worldwide. The achievement secured her a professional racing contract with McLaren Customer Racing’s Formula Woman Team in the GT Cup Championship.
Misir competed across two GT Cup seasons at circuits including Snetterton, Oulton Park, Donington Park and Silverstone. She won multiple Jamaican championships in Modified Production and TS1 classes at Dover Raceway, and was named RJR/Gleaner Motorsports Athlete of the Year four times.
She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and Design from Florida International University and works as an F1 expert host alongside her racing commitments.
Breakthrough E1 Rookie Season
Misir made her powerboat racing debut with Team Blue Rising in January 2025, partnering with American veteran John Peeters. The pairing transformed a team that had finished last in 2024 into championship contenders.
Their maiden victory came at Monaco in July. The win was Team Blue Rising’s first in E1 competition.
Misir collected four podiums across the 2025 season: victory in Monaco, third place finishes in Jeddah, Italy and the Miami finale. Team Blue Rising secured third in the championship with 169 points, behind Team Brady on 195 and Team Rafa on 184.
Joining Championship Contenders
Aoki Racing Team emerged as genuine title challengers in 2025 after struggling through their inaugural 2024 campaign. Clos, a former Formula 1 test driver who joined from Sergio Perez’s E1 team, partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Mashael Alobaidan to deliver multiple victories.
The partnership won at Jeddah in January and Dubrovnik in June, taking the championship lead mid-season before ultimately finishing behind Team Brady. Their transformation from last place in 2024 represented one of the most significant turnarounds in E1’s brief history.
Misir’s arrival pairs two drivers who each demonstrated championship-winning pace in 2025. Clos brings experience from single-seater and endurance racing, including Formula 1 testing and GP2 victories. Misir proved her adaptability by mastering powerboat racing in her debut season after establishing herself in car racing.
The team, owned by international DJ and producer Steve Aoki, competes in the UIM E1 World Championship using identical RaceBird electric hydrofoil boats. The 2026 season opens at Jeddah on January 23-24.
Aoki Racing Team has not announced details about Alobaidan’s status for 2026.
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.
