Ardis Slakteris won the Grand Prix of Lithuania 1 from pole position on Saturday afternoon, taking his first UIM F4 World Championship race victory on only his second competitive outing in the class. Nils Slakteris’s younger brother led every lap of a 20-lap race on the Danė River waterfront circuit in Klaipėda.
Lithuania’s Paulius Stainys finished second, 5.294 seconds behind, to give the home crowd a driver to celebrate. Finland’s Oliver Martin completed the podium in third, a further 4.108 seconds back.
Stainys was one of two Lithuanian drivers in the points. Nida Kilinskaité, also racing in front of her home crowd, finished fourth, 18.777 seconds behind Slakteris.
Slakteris had set the pace through all three qualifying sessions, topping Q1, Q2, and the six-driver Q3 shootout to take pole. His Q3 best of 53.827 seconds was the fastest lap of the qualifying day at 97.31 km/h. In the race, he was never headed.
Ardis said after climbing from the cockpit:
“It feels amazing. The better part is I’m a rookie. This is my second race like ever. I had only one race before this.”
He added:
“This has been a big, big dream of my family.”
Nils, the reigning F4 world champion, was watching from the pit lane rather than competing alongside him. Nils is racing in the UIM F2 World Championship this season, where he qualified 11th for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Lithuania. The Slakteris family had Mum, Dad, and Grandad all present on the Danė riverbank for the occasion.
France’s Jean Baptiste Thomas, runner-up to Nils Slakteris in the 2025 world championship, finished fifth. Sweden’s Adam Wrenkler was sixth.
Norway’s William Leithe-Martinsen and Slovakia’s Simon Jung both finished the race distance but were disqualified under UIM Circuit Rule 303.01, which covers course boundary infringements. Leithe-Martinsen was classified 16th, Jung 17th. Finland’s Wilhelm Sundberg did not start.
Race 2 takes place on Sunday, with F4 qualifying at 13:15 EEST and the race at 15:15 EEST.
Qualifying Results
Qualifying 3 – Grid positions 1-6
| Pos | No. | Driver | Country | Laps | Best lap | Gap | Speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Ardis Slakteris | Latvia | 2 | 53.827 | – | 97.31 |
| 2 | 45 | Oliver Martin | Finland | 2 | 54.731 | +0.904 | 95.70 |
| 3 | 41 | Paulius Stainys | Lithuania | 2 | 55.724 | +1.897 | 94.00 |
| 4 | 11 | Nida Kilinskaite | Lithuania | 2 | 55.727 | +1.900 | 93.99 |
| 5 | 5 | Adam Wrenkler | Sweden | 2 | 56.224 | +2.397 | 93.16 |
| 6 | 93 | Niklavs Rimeicans | Latvia | 0 | – | DNF | – |
Qualifying 2 – Grid positions 7-13
| Pos | No. | Driver | Country | Laps | Best lap | Gap | Speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Paulius Stainys | Lithuania | 9 | 56.787 | – | 92.24 |
| 2 | 45 | Oliver Martin | Finland | 11 | 57.148 | +0.361 | 91.66 |
| 3 | 51 | Ardis Slakteris | Latvia | 14 | 57.562 | +0.775 | 91.00 |
| 4 | 11 | Nida Kilinskaite | Lithuania | 12 | 57.600 | +0.813 | 90.94 |
| 5 | 5 | Adam Wrenkler | Sweden | 12 | 57.674 | +0.887 | 90.82 |
| 6 | 93 | Niklavs Rimeicans | Latvia | 14 | 57.687 | +0.900 | 90.80 |
| 7 | 13 | Jean Baptiste Thomas | France | 14 | 57.775 | +0.988 | 90.66 |
| 8 | 8 | William Leithe-Martinsen | Norway | 10 | 58.154 | +1.367 | 90.07 |
| 9 | 50 | Laura Lakovica | Latvia | 13 | 58.391 | +1.604 | 89.71 |
| 10 | 7 | Sultan Alfalahi | UAE | 12 | 58.412 | +1.625 | 89.67 |
| 11 | 27 | Noel Vanttinen | Finland | 11 | 59.287 | +2.500 | 88.35 |
| 12 | 34 | William Sjostrom | Sweden | 12 | 59.409 | +2.622 | 88.17 |
| 13 | 38 | Benjamin Berti | Belgium | 13 | 59.419 | +2.632 | 88.15 |
| 14 | 64 | Simon Jung | Slovakia | 10 | 1:00.936 | +4.149 | 85.96 |
| 15 | 22 | Attila Horvath | Hungary | 1 | 1:02.104 | +5.317 | 84.34 |
Qualifying 1 – Grid positions 14-18
| Pos | No. | Driver | Country | Laps | Best lap | Gap | Speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Paulius Stainys | Lithuania | 8 | 58.124 | – | 90.12 |
| 2 | 45 | Oliver Martin | Finland | 6 | 59.112 | +0.988 | 88.61 |
| 3 | 8 | William Leithe-Martinsen | Norway | 6 | 59.272 | +1.148 | 88.37 |
| 4 | 51 | Ardis Slakteris | Latvia | 9 | 59.652 | +1.528 | 87.81 |
| 5 | 7 | Sultan Alfalahi | UAE | 8 | 59.705 | +1.581 | 87.73 |
| 6 | 34 | William Sjostrom | Sweden | 9 | 1:00.369 | +2.245 | 86.77 |
| 7 | 50 | Laura Lakovica | Latvia | 15 | 1:00.584 | +2.460 | 86.46 |
| 8 | 38 | Benjamin Berti | Belgium | 9 | 1:00.720 | +2.596 | 86.26 |
| 9 | 5 | Adam Wrenkler | Sweden | 3 | 1:00.965 | +2.841 | 85.92 |
| 10 | 22 | Attila Horvath | Hungary | 8 | 1:00.976 | +2.852 | 85.90 |
| 11 | 11 | Nida Kilinskaite | Lithuania | 9 | 1:01.124 | +3.000 | 85.69 |
| 12 | 93 | Niklavs Rimeicans | Latvia | 17 | 1:01.220 | +3.096 | 85.56 |
| 13 | 13 | Jean Baptiste Thomas | France | 15 | 1:01.599 | +3.475 | 85.03 |
| 14 | 27 | Noel Vanttinen | Finland | 5 | 1:01.671 | +3.547 | 84.93 |
| 15 | 64 | Simon Jung | Slovakia | 6 | 1:02.220 | +4.096 | 84.19 |
| 16 | 2 | Ismat Moani | UAE | 13 | 1:02.237 | +4.113 | 84.16 |
| 17 | 71 | Arthur Sundback | Finland | 15 | 1:03.832 | +5.708 | 82.06 |
| 18 | 47 | Wilhelm Sundberg | Finland | – | – | DNS | – |
Race Result – Grand Prix of Lithuania 1
| Pos | No. | Driver | Country | Laps | Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Ardis Slakteris | Latvia | 20 | – | 20 |
| 2 | 41 | Paulius Stainys | Lithuania | 20 | +5.294 | 17 |
| 3 | 45 | Oliver Martin | Finland | 20 | +9.402 | 15 |
| 4 | 11 | Nida Kilinskaite | Lithuania | 20 | +18.777 | 13 |
| 5 | 13 | Jean Baptiste Thomas | France | 20 | +27.446 | 11 |
| 6 | 5 | Adam Wrenkler | Sweden | 20 | +30.029 | 10 |
| 7 | 50 | Laura Lakovica | Latvia | 20 | +32.087 | 9 |
| 8 | 38 | Benjamin Berti | Belgium | 20 | +35.817 | 8 |
| 9 | 34 | William Sjostrom | Sweden | 20 | +46.105 | 7 |
| 10 | 22 | Attila Horvath | Hungary | 20 | +48.353 | 6 |
| 11 | 7 | Sultan Alfalahi | UAE | 19 | +L1 | 5 |
| 12 | 71 | Arthur Sundback | Finland | 18 | +L2 | 4 |
| 13 | 2 | Ismat Moani | UAE | 17 | +L3 | 3 |
| 14 | 93 | Niklavs Rimeicans | Latvia | 1 | +L19 | 2 |
| 15 | 27 | Noel Vanttinen | Finland | 18 | +L2 | DNF |
| 16 | 8 | William Leithe-Martinsen | Norway | 20 | +7.326 | DSQ |
| 17 | 64 | Simon Jung | Slovakia | 19 | +L1 | DSQ |
| 18 | 47 | Wilhelm Sundberg | Finland | – | – | DNS |
DSQ: William Leithe-Martinsen and Simon Jung both disqualified under UIM Circuit Rule 303.01 (course boundary infringement). DNF: Noel Vanttinen. DNS: Wilhelm Sundberg.
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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.
