Free Practice 3: Wyatt Bounces Back To Top Shanghai Times
Championship leader Rusty Wyatt rediscovered his winning form in Free Practice 3, posting the fastest time of the final practice session as teams completed their preparations ahead of Friday’s crucial qualifying at the Shanghai Grand Prix.
After a relatively subdued seventh-place finish in Free Practice 2, the Sharjah Team driver delivered when it mattered most, clocking 00:42.736 over 17 laps to edge out a resurgent field and reclaim top spot on the timesheet.
Absentees Return With Impact
The session saw the return of Alec Weckstrom and three-time world champion Shaun Torrente, both of whom had sat out FP2. Weckstrom made an immediate impression, securing second place with 00:43.244 across 19 laps, just over half a second behind Wyatt’s benchmark.
Torrente also bounced back strongly, claiming third with 00:43.807 after completing 21 laps as he continues his recovery from a disappointing retirement at the season opener in Indonesia.
Stark And Selio Round Out Top Five
Team Abu Dhabi’s Erik Stark showed improvement from his FP2 performance, climbing to fourth with 00:43.973 after eight laps of running. The Swedish driver will be encouraged by the progress made throughout Thursday’s three practice sessions.
Sami Selio maintained his consistent form with fifth place, posting 00:44.012 across ten laps. The Finnish driver has been inside the top six in both FP2 and FP3, establishing himself as a genuine contender for Friday’s qualifying battle.
Jelf Continues Strong Shanghai Form
British driver Ben Jelf continued his impressive weekend with sixth place, recording 00:44.208 over 29 laps – the highest lap count of the session. The podium finisher from Indonesia is clearly comfortable on the Shanghai circuit and will fancy his chances of securing a strong grid position for Saturday’s Grand Prix.
Marit Stromoy finished seventh with 00:44.421 after an extensive 32-lap run, while Ferdinand Zandbergen claimed eighth with 00:44.490.
Notable Absences
In a reversal of fortunes from FP2, defending champion Jonas Andersson – who had dominated the afternoon session – chose not to participate in FP3, along with Peter Morin and Damon Cohen.
With the top six separated by just 1.5 seconds in FP3, and multiple drivers showing race-winning pace across Thursday’s three sessions, qualifying promises to be competitive!
| POS | # | DRIVER | LAPS | BEST LAP | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | 17 | 00:42.736 | |
| 2 | 3 | Alec Weckstrom | 19 | 00:43.244 | + 0.00″508 |
| 3 | 4 | Shaun Torrente | 21 | 00:43.807 | + 0.01″071 |
| 4 | 6 | Erik Stark | 8 | 00:43.973 | + 0.01″236 |
| 5 | 11 | Sami Selio | 10 | 00:44.012 | + 0.01″276 |
| 6 | 9 | Ben Jelf | 29 | 00:44.208 | + 0.01″472 |
| 7 | 50 | Marit Stromoy | 32 | 00:44.421 | + 0.01″685 |
| 8 | 12 | Ferdinand Zandbergen | 8 | 00:44.490 | + 0.01″754 |
| 9 | 2 | Grant Trask | 12 | 00:44.595 | + 0.01″859 |
| 10 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | 20 | 00:45.045 | + 0.02″308 |
| 11 | 5 | Mansoor Al Mansoori | 24 | 00:46.108 | + 0.03″371 |
| 12 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 28 | 00:46.664 | + 0.03″927 |
| 13 | 97 | Alberto Comparato | 11 | 00:47.784 | + 0.05″047 |
| 14 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | 7 | 00:47.842 | + 0.05″105 |
| 15 | 22 | Kyle Maskall | 6 | 00:47.925 | + 0.05″189 |
| 16 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | 18 | 00:48.143 | + 0.05″406 |
| 17 | 18 | Stefan Arand | 1 | 00:51.757 | + 0.09″020 |
| 18 | 1 | Jonas Andersson | 0 | DNS | |
| 19 | 7 | Peter Morin | 0 | DNS | |
| 20 | 98 | Damon Cohen | 0 | DNS |
John Moore has a longstanding involvement in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism. He organised the historic Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013 and was actively involved with British offshore racing from 2017 until 2025.
In 2017, Moore founded Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news, insights, and event coverage.
He is now Editor of Powerboat.News, continuing to contribute to the sport’s media landscape with in-depth reporting and analysis.
