Stefan Arand won the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy in Cagliari on Sunday, May 31, as five of his rivals barrel rolled out of contention on a race circuit battered by rollers and rough conditions throughout the afternoon.
The Sharjah Team’s Estonian driver led home a Sharjah Team one-two, with Grant Trask finishing second and Bartek Marszalek third for Stromoy Racing.
It was Arand’s second successive Grand Prix victory. He won the 2025 season finale in Sharjah in December, and Trask finished second that day too – then driving for Team Sweden. The two are now teammates at Sharjah Team, and they finished in identical order at the opening round of 2026.
The race was one of the most dramatic in recent F1H2O history.
Championship leader Shaun Torrente hit a buoy on the opening lap, collecting a penalty lap that effectively ended his race before it had begun. He then barrel rolled at the right-hander on the second restart, joining Rusty Wyatt, Sami Selio, Peter Morin and Brent Dillard on the list of retirements. The race was run under a time limit and ended with five laps remaining.
Rolling Start
Officials took the decision to start the race under a rolling procedure rather than the traditional pontoon start. Wind had been building through the morning and was gusting at 15 knots by race time, pushing up rollers on the far side of the 1.8-kilometre circuit that officials considered too dangerous for a standing start into an unknown wall of water. Drivers completed one or two formation laps to assess conditions before the green flag dropped.
Selio Out, Torrente Penalised
The race had barely begun when Sami Selio barrel rolled at Turn 2 on the far side of the circuit. The two-time world champion, racing for Comparato Racing in his first season with the team, did a double barrel roll and was unhurt, but his race was over and the yellow flag neutralised the field.
The restart also revealed that Torrente had hit a turn buoy on the opening lap. Under UIM rules, the penalty is one complete lap, which relegated the defending world champion to the back of the effective running order before the race had properly started.
Wyatt and Torrente Both Out
When racing resumed, Rusty Wyatt pushed hard from second on the grid, going wide to find clear water and briefly getting ahead of Torrente. At the right-hander, Wyatt lost the boat and barrel rolled.
Moments later, Torrente was gone in another accident. His boat ended up the right way up and the defending world champion got out of his seat and patted his DAC hull as if to say thank you for being strong enough to save him from any harm.
Arand Takes Control
With Torrente and Wyatt out, Arand moved into a lead he would not relinquish. The rough water specialist drove a race in conditions that he loves and in conditions that were destroying boats around him.
At one point Arand’s boat launched several feet into the air off a rogue wave but he kept control and continued.
Eight seconds separated Arand from Peter Morin in second place at the height of his dominance, with Trask right behind the Frenchman and pushing hard. Trask had moved past Bartek Marszalek for third and was closing on Morin when the China CTIC driver hit a rogue wave at the right-hander and barrel rolled on the fourth restart, ending his race. It was only the second accident of Morin’s 44-race F1H2O career.
Trask to Second, Marszalek Third
Trask inherited second place and the race closed out under the time limit with five laps remaining, giving Sharjah Team a one-two at the opening round. The margin at the flag was just 0.754 seconds after 40 laps. Marszalek completed the podium in third, a strong showing in the rough water he had predicted would suit him before the start.
Brent Dillard barrel rolled towards the end of the race, while Jonas Andersson climbed from tenth to sixth, unable to mount the title challenge expected of a three-time world champion in his new boat.
Back-to-Back
Arand’s win in Cagliari makes it back-to-back Grand Prix victories for the 23-year-old Estonian. He won the 2025 season finale in Sharjah on his ninth career start, leading from the front by 12.594 seconds. Cagliari was his tenth. The Sharjah result ended with Trask second and Wyatt third. Here, Wyatt was an early retirement and Trask again followed Arand home.
At Sharjah, Arand and Trask were rivals – Arand in the Sharjah Team, Trask in Team Sweden. For 2026 they are teammates. The dynamic has changed; the finishing order has not.
Result
| Pos | Boat | Driver | Laps | Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Stefan Arand | 40 | – | 20 |
| 2 | 19 | Grant Trask | 40 | +0.754 | 15 |
| 3 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | 40 | +2.322 | 12 |
| 4 | 44 | Alberto Comparato | 40 | +4.140 | 9 |
| 5 | 9 | Ben Jelf | 40 | +5.202 | 7 |
| 6 | 5 | Jonas Andersson | 40 | +7.205 | 5 |
| 7 | 3 | Alec Weckstrom | 39 | +1 Lap | 4 |
| 8 | 6 | Erik Stark | 39 | +1 Lap | 3 |
| 9 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 38 | +2 Laps | 2 |
| 10 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | 38 | +2 Laps | 1 |
| 11 | 35 | Rashed Al Qemzi | 38 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 12 | 7 | Peter Morin | 36 | DNF | 0 |
| 13 | 8 | Brent Dillard | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| 14 | 50 | Marit Stromoy | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| 15 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | 10 | DNF | 0 |
| 16 | 1 | Shaun Torrente | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| 17 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| 18 | 11 | Sami Selio | 0 | DNF | 0 |
Championship Standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Arand | 28 |
| 2 | Grant Trask | 21 |
| 3 | Bartek Marszalek | 20 |
| 4 | Jonas Andersson | 14 |
| 5 | Ben Jelf | 12 |
| 6 | Alec Weckstrom | 11 |
| 6 | Alberto Comparato | 11 |
| 8 | Shaun Torrente | 10 |
| 8 | Rusty Wyatt | 10 |
| 10 | Peter Morin | 9 |
| 11 | Sami Selio | 7 |
| 11 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 7 |
| 13 | Brent Dillard | 6 |
| 13 | Erik Stark | 6 |
| 15 | Marit Stromoy | 4 |
| 15 | Rashed Al Qemzi | 4 |
| 17 | Duarte Benavente | 3 |
| 18 | Cédric Deguisne | 1 |
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.
