Stark tops warm-up but grid penalty sends him to back of field

Championship leader Alec Weckström and warm-up pacesetter Erik Stark will both start the Grand Prix of Jeddah from the back of the grid after engine changes triggered penalties that have transformed the race.

Weckström, who leads Shaun Torrente by a single point in the world championship, changed his engine between Friday’s sprint races and Saturday morning’s warm-up session. The penalty sends him to 16th on the grid, handing Torrente a crucial advantage with 20 points available in the Grand Prix.

Stark’s penalty is particularly striking given he topped Saturday morning’s warm-up with the fastest time of 42.533 seconds. The Team Abu Dhabi driver now starts 17th despite showing the strongest pace in the final practice session.

Grant Trask and Cédric Deguisne also changed engines and will start 18th and 19th respectively, whilst Damon Cohen did not start the session.

Stark tops warm-up before penalty

Stark set the pace in Saturday morning’s 30-lap warm-up session, his best lap coming just over a second slower than Torrente’s pole position time of 41.444 seconds set in Friday’s qualifying.

Alberto Comparato finished second in the session, 0.111 seconds behind Stark, with Grant Trask third. Championship contenders Rusty Wyatt and Jonas Andersson rounded out the top five.

Torrente set the eighth-fastest time whilst Weckström finished 15th, more than two seconds off the pace, as teams focused on race preparation rather than outright speed.

Stefan Arand, Cédric Deguisne and Damon Cohen did not participate in the session.

Warm-up session times

Revised starting grid for Grand Prix

*Grid penalty for engine change

The Grand Prix starts at 16:05 local time.

John Moore

John Moore’s 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 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.