Swede Jonas Andersson, the three-time UIM F1H2O World Champion, ended a lean spell for Team Abu Dhabi with pole position for the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan this morning, topping all three phases of qualifying to beat Shaun Torrente by a huge margin of 0.739 seconds.
It is the team’s first pole position since Torrente was driving for them in 2022. Andersson signed a three-year deal with the team in January, ending nearly two decades racing under his own Team Sweden banner.
How Qualifying Unfolded
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov opened the session alongside UIM President Raffaele Chiulli, H2O Racing founder Nicolò di San Germano, and the heads of state of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, before all eighteen boats went out in sunny, calm conditions for Q1. Grant Trask set the early pace, Stefan Arand moved to the top with a 52.187 by his third lap, and Rusty Wyatt led in turn soon after. Torrente eventually took over at the head of the times with a 52.011.
The real fight was for the last automatic place into Q2. Erik Stark climbed from twelfth to first in the closing minutes with a 51.904, and Wyatt held on to the final spot. Ben Jelf improved late to beat Rashed Al Qemzi to thirteenth, but both missed the cut. Wyatt then failed to start Q2 after an engine problem, so his Q1 time stood as his result, leaving him twelfth in the final classification.
Andersson set the pace in Q2 from his opening lap of 50.294, a time only he and Torrente would beat all morning. Behind him, Alec Weckstrom clawed into the sixth and final Q3 place with just over two minutes left, pushing Stefan Hagin out. Hagin pushed his boat to over 160km/h on his final lap but could not find enough, and Alberto Comparato’s own last-lap effort left him 0.127 seconds shy of Weckstrom’s cut-off time.
Q3 was contested entirely by drivers from three UAE-backed outfits: Victory Team’s Torrente and Weckstrom, Sharjah Team’s Trask and Arand, and Team Abu Dhabi’s Stark and Andersson. Torrente set the early pace with a 49.890 opening lap, ahead of Weckstrom, before Andersson moved to the front on his fifth lap. Torrente responded with a faster lap of his own, but Andersson had the final word, a 48.778 that left him clear of the field when the session closed.
Final Qualifying Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jonas Andersson | Team Abu Dhabi | 00:52.355 | 00:50.112 | 00:48.778 | |
| 2 | 1 | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team | 00:52.011 | 00:50.595 | 00:49.517 | +0.739 |
| 3 | 3 | Alec Weckstrom | Victory Team | 00:52.419 | 00:51.224 | 00:49.743 | +0.965 |
| 4 | 6 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi | 00:51.904 | 00:50.559 | 00:49.785 | +1.007 |
| 5 | 19 | Grant Trask | Sharjah Team | 00:52.579 | 00:50.757 | 00:49.978 | +1.200 |
| 6 | 18 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team | 00:52.108 | 00:51.134 | 00:50.047 | +1.269 |
| 7 | 44 | Alberto Comparato | Comparato Racing | 00:52.945 | 00:51.351 | +2.573 | |
| 8 | 88 | Stefan Hagin | China CTIC Team | 00:52.870 | 00:51.502 | +2.724 | |
| 9 | 11 | Sami Selio | Comparato Racing | 00:52.991 | 00:51.504 | +2.726 | |
| 10 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | Stromoy Racing | 00:52.704 | 00:51.691 | +2.913 | |
| 11 | 8 | Brent Dillard | China CTIC Team | 00:52.138 | 00:51.899 | +3.121 | |
| 12 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | Sharjah Team | 00:52.123 | DNS | +3.345 | |
| 13 | 9 | Ben Jelf | Atlantic Team | 00:53.072 | +4.294 | ||
| 14 | 35 | Rashed Al Qemzi | Team Abu Dhabi | 00:53.645 | +4.867 | ||
| 15 | 50 | Marit Stromoy | Stromoy Racing | 00:53.919 | +5.141 | ||
| 16 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | Maverick F1 Team | 00:55.859 | +7.081 | ||
| 17 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | Maverick F1 Team | 00:56.660 | +7.882 | ||
| 18 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | Atlantic Team | 01:05.443 | +16.665 |
Two sprint races follow later today, at 3.05pm and 3.50pm local time (10.05am and 10.50am BST), before Sunday’s Grand Prix decides the round.
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.
