Buby Bertels scored his first-ever UIM F2 World Championship points at Peso da Régua, only his second World Championship race after his previous outing at the standalone European Championship event at Viverone. Ahead of Sunday’s season finale at Vila Velha de Ródão, the Belgian driver spoke to PBN about Campine, his plans for a new boat, and why the paddock had one eye on the Mercury APX all weekend.
Yeah, so first of all, we’re all glad that after all that bad luck we had, it all came back together very well, because we got our first points from the Formula 2 World Championship. We were very happy about that. And last weekend it all came down to my sponsor Campine, to make sure that we got back to Portugal.
What does Campine do?
Campine is a recycling company that does a lot of recycling and everything.
Campine recycles industrial waste streams to produce new raw materials, dismantling lead-based car batteries to recover metals. The company is also a leading producer of antimony trioxide and flame retardant masterbatches, and its sustainable waste processing makes it a prominent player in the circular economy.
So they’re based in Belgium?
Yes, based in Belgium. It’s a very, very big company, and they’ve been just very helpful. Without them I couldn’t have got to Portugal, I couldn’t have got started in the first place. So they’ve backed me up really well, and especially thanks to them and the whole crew from Campine, they made it happen to get us racing here again and again.
Now, obviously the season finale is coming up on Sunday, but what are your plans for next season?
We’ve made some plans already. We’ve got a good connection with Christian as well. We’re already thinking about building a new boat, but that takes a lot of time.
So you’re thinking about a new Mølgaard hull?
Might do, or just the Bernico Formula 2 boat. The plans are on the table, but it’s a future thing, so we’ll definitely take our time. We still need to develop and get a lot of knowledge of how the catamarans work. We’ve been very professional and know everything about vee bottoms, but cats are a different story. We’ve got to pick that up, take it step by step, and eventually we’ll get there. But we’ve got big plans for a full tour next year.
And you’ll be staying with the OptiMax motor?
Currently, yes, because we want to develop the boat as much as possible. Once we get to know how the boat works and how everything works on it, then it’s much easier for us to go to an APX, because then we know how the boat handles with that engine, and what to do on the boat as well. We don’t want to feel our way into the dark and just build something. You want to know what it is first.
Did the APX upgrades on Munthe-Kaas and Blacker’s boats surprise you last weekend?
Well, a little bit. Eventually the race has to be raced as well, so I know a lot of people dropped out with technical issues, so they probably had a bit of luck too, but hey, that’s what you need in Formula 2 as well. But yeah, the upgrade was noticed. I don’t think it was only noticed by me, I think the whole paddock noticed it very well. So if that’s the way things are going, there’s a good chance there’ll be more APXs coming out next season, probably.
Thanks for your time this morning.
No, thank you very much.
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.
