Hagin wins 2022 UIM F2 World Championship on the water and in the appeal room

Germany’s Stefan Hagin is the 2022 UIM F2 World Champion, but only after one of the most protracted and complicated title resolutions in circuit powerboat racing history. Three months after the chequered flag dropped at Vila Velha de Ródão, an independent engine re-measurement overturned his post-race disqualification and handed him the title he had earned on the water.

Into the final round

Six drivers were mathematically in contention when the championship arrived at its final round, the Grand Prix of Portugal II at Vila Velha de Ródão, on 18 September 2022. In practice, three held realistic hopes: UAE’s Mansoor Al Mansoori (Team Abu Dhabi) led the standings, Finland’s Sami Seliö (Sharjah Team) sat three points behind, and Hagin (Team ROWE/RPM) was third, chasing his first world title.

Saturday qualifying added a local subplot. Portugal’s Duarte Benavente took pole with a lap of 44.809 seconds, Norway’s Tobias Munthe-Kaas lined up second, with Seliö third and Hagin fourth. Al Mansoori, cautious with his championship lead, qualified seventh.

The race

Munthe-Kaas seized the lead at the start of the 45-lap race and never relinquished it, taking his first round win of the season. Hagin drove a measured race to second, with Seliö third. Edgaras Riabko had run strongly before a one-lap penalty for a jump start dropped him down the order. Brent Dillard and Al Mansoori completed the top five. Benavente, the pole-sitter and crowd favourite, retired after 17 laps.

Post-race disqualifications

Post-race technical inspection produced a bombshell. UIM officials examined the engines of the top finishers and ruled that all three leading boats, those of Munthe-Kaas, Hagin, and Seliö, contained infringements against the championship’s strict engine parity regulations. All three were disqualified and stripped of their points from the round.

With the top three results scrubbed, Al Mansoori moved up to an effective race win on points redistribution. Team Abu Dhabi celebrated: Al Mansoori had succeeded his teammate Rashed Al Qemzi as champion, with team manager Guido Cappellini adding another title to Abu Dhabi’s tally. Hagin, who had briefly appeared to hold the championship after Munthe-Kaas’s disqualification, was left with nothing.

The appeals

The outcome was immediately contested. Four drivers in total had faced engine-related disqualifications, with different engine builders involved, raising questions about the consistency of on-site scrutineering. Teams lodged protests and demanded independent verification.

Hagin’s team, led by principal Baiba Veisa, had the engine sealed and sent to the Carl Zeiss metrology facility in Eskilstuna, Sweden, for independent re-measurement. On 2 December 2022, UIM Secretary General Thomas Kurth confirmed the result: Hagin’s engine was fully compliant. The disqualification was overturned, his 15 points from Portugal II were reinstated, and he moved to 51 points in the final standings.

The remaining cases went to the International Court of Arbitration, which heard them in March 2023. Munthe-Kaas’s disqualification was upheld. Riabko’s appeal was also upheld, restoring his points. Seliö’s case was resolved in his favour as well, restoring his 12 points and lifting him to 49 in the final table.

With Hagin on 51 and Seliö on 49, Hagin is the 2022 UIM F2 World Champion.

2022 UIM F2 World Championship – final standings