Massimiliano Cremona won both heats of the UIM Hydro GP World Championship F-250 round at Żnin, Poland on Sunday, with his brother Alessandro second in each. A weekend that began under storm clouds, Saturday’s timed practice and one scheduled heat abandoned to strong wind, ended with a family 1-2 on the Małe Żnińskie Lake podium and a Briton completing it.
Thomas Mantripp took third overall after finishing fourth in Heat 1 and third in Heat 2, earning his first Hydro GP world championship podium. His father Peter Mantripp described the weekend as tough early on, but said Thomas “kept his determination and did his very best throughout.”
Nikola Todorov, who set the fastest time in qualifying and was duelling with Massimiliano Cremona for the lead in Heat 1 when an incident put him out, did not start Heat 2. Peter Mantripp’s post-race message included wishes for his speedy recovery.
F-250
Todorov took pole by 0.59 seconds from Massimiliano Cremona in time trials, with Alessandro Cremona third quickest. In the race, Todorov was excluded after an incident while fighting for the lead in Heat 1. Massimiliano Cremona won both heats from his brother, with Joonas Lember third in Heat 1 before a DNF in Heat 2 dropped him to fifth overall. Mantripp moved from fourth in Heat 1 to third in Heat 2 as the field thinned.
Massimiliano Cremona said:
Everything went very well. We knew how strong Todorov was and I am sorry about his accident while we were fighting for first position. I don’t think I made a wrong move. Then I won the two heats staying concentrated and put another good point on the world championship standings. Now we go home and start preparing for the next race.
Alessandro Cremona said:
We are satisfied. The team is happy for this 1-2 on the podium. Finding my way back to the top of the standings feels very good. We can still improve and fix a few things before Boretto Po. Not being far from first position gives me confidence for the next races.
| Pos | Driver | Nat | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massimiliano Cremona | ITA | 1st (06:14.09/9 laps) | 1st (06:11.20/9 laps) | 800 |
| 2 | Alessandro Cremona | USA | 2nd (06:16.70/9 laps) | 2nd (06:14.48/9 laps) | 600 |
| 3 | Thomas Mantripp | GBR | 4th (06:38.87/9 laps) | 3rd (06:32.91/9 laps) | 394 |
| 4 | Wayne Turner | GBR | 5th (06:45.09/9 laps) | 4th (06:37.20/9 laps) | 296 |
| 5 | Joonas Lember | EST | 3rd (06:24.52/9 laps) | DNF | 225 |
| 6 | Emil Emilov | BUL | 6th (06:29.59/8 laps) | DNS | 95 |
| – | Nikola Todorov | BUL | DSQ | DNS | 0 |
F-125
Gabriele Rossi was dominant throughout. He took pole in time trials, won Heat 1 by 16 seconds from Henryk Synoracki, and won Heat 2 again. Viktor Lyubenov was disqualified from Heat 1 after accumulating three yellow cards for dangerous driving. Luca Finotti, third in Heat 1, retired from Heat 2. Davide Scarpa finished fifth in Heat 1 in his debut season in the category.
Alessandro Cremona noted:
In F-125, dominated by Gabriele Rossi ahead of Andrea Ongari, our driver Davide Scarpa took an excellent fifth place in Heat 1, remembering that this is his first season in the category.
| Pos | Driver | Nat | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Rossi | ITA | 1st (05:46.03/7 laps) | 1st (05:45.12/7 laps) | 800 |
| 2 | Henryk Synoracki | POL | 2nd (06:02.88/7 laps) | 3rd (06:07.43/7 laps) | 525 |
| 3 | Andrea Ongari | ITA | 4th (06:15.42/7 laps) | 2nd (06:01.93/7 laps) | 469 |
| 4 | Luca Finotti | ITA | 3rd (06:05.09/7 laps) | DNF | 225 |
| 5 | Nicolo Darai | ITA | 8th (05:51.01/6 laps) | 4th (06:09.15/7 laps) | 222 |
| 6 | Tobias Wahlsten | SWE | 7th (06:26.20/7 laps) | 6th (06:19.87/7 laps) | 166 |
| 7 | Ladislav Herbansky | SVK | 6th (06:18.60/7 laps) | 8th (05:51.63/6 laps) | 148 |
| 8 | Panayot Stoyanov | BUL | DNF | 5th (06:11.72/7 laps) | 127 |
| 9 | Davide Scarpa | ITA | 5th (06:16.47/7 laps) | DNF | 127 |
| 10 | Aleksander Dolacinski | POL | 9th (06:03.83/6 laps) | 9th (05:59.30/6 laps) | 80 |
F-500
Championship leader Marcin Zielinski won Heat 1 from pole but retired from Heat 2, handing the round lead to Estonia’s Erko Aabrams, who won Heat 2 to lead the round on 700 points. Attila Havas was consistent across both heats for second overall. Marcel Copák was penalised one lap in Heat 2 for cutting distance or blocking. Giuseppe Rossi was disqualified from Heat 1 for causing a race stoppage.
| Pos | Driver | Nat | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erko Aabrams | EST | 2nd (05:42.42/9 laps) | 1st (05:54.87/9 laps) | 700 |
| 2 | Attila Havas | HUN | 3rd (06:10.48/9 laps) | 3rd (06:17.90/9 laps) | 450 |
| 3 | Marcin Zielinski | POL | 1st (05:42.33/9 laps) | DNF | 400 |
| 4 | Paul Hart | GBR | 4th (06:16.01/9 laps) | 4th (06:26.39/9 laps) | 338 |
| 5 | David Loukotka | CZE | DNF | 2nd (06:09.18/9 laps) | 300 |
| 6 | Ferenc Csako | SRB | 5th (06:23.09/9 laps) | 5th (06:05.36/8 laps) | 254 |
| 7 | Marcel Copak | CZE | 6th (05:57.77/8 laps) | 7th* (05:59.66/7 laps) | 166 |
| 8 | Tomas Hrbacek | CZE | DNF | 6th (06:42.04/8 laps) | 95 |
| 9 | Nikolay Surkov-Nixi | BUL | 7th (06:27.53/8 laps) | DNF | 71 |
*Copak penalised one lap in Heat 2 for cutting distance or blocking.
Hydro GP World Championship
Full 2026 standings for F-125, F-250 and F-500, updated after every round.
View Championship StandingsRound 3 moves to Boretto Po on the River Po in Italy, June 12-14, 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.
