Team Abu Dhabi’s Erik Stark drove a faultless race to win the Grand Prix of Sharjah, but all the attention was on teammate Shaun Torrente, who crossed the line in third to win the UIM F1H2O World Championship for the first time.
“What a race. What a restart. I was fighting my mind trying to keep it all together. I was just managing my race. I knew I was in a good spot. I was just trying to get it home. I got a run on the restart on Sami and I just let it hang. Thankfully it didn’t blow over. I knew I was there. I knew I was safe in fourth if it stayed like that. It’s all done now. I couldn’t take another day like that!” Shaun Torrente
For Stark it was an afternoon of mixed emotions. The Swedish driver did all he could, taking his third win of the year from pole, but knew a win alone would not be enough.
“I didn’t hope for too much before, you know. Shaun is a very good driver. I did my race and I could not do any more. I had some bad luck in Abu Dhabi. That was it.” Erik Stark
A brilliant second place went to Team Amaravati’s Jonas Andersson, his first podium of the year.
“I gave it everything. I crashed on Thursday in free practice and the guys put it all back together and we got second in qualifying. But this morning we had an electrical issue and did zero laps so to be on the podium in second for this team is amazing. It was a tough race and I realised that he was just too fast so I backed off to save the engine.” Jonas Andersson
What promised to be a three-way title fight within the Abu Dhabi team ended early for Thani Al Qemzi, whose championship hopes came to an end on lap 18 with an electrical problem. He finished the season third overall.
“This is racing but I did my best. I made a great start and was up to third before the yellow flag and at the restart I got up there again but just had no luck today.” Thani Al Qemzi
The race started explosively, with Stark holding pole position from Andersson and Al Qemzi gaining three places before the yellow flag came out after Maverick F1’s Sutthiphan Sookbuangbon turned over. The boats reverted to their starting order, and the restart was a repeat: Stark, Andersson, and Al Qemzi held the front, with Torrente charging from seventh, passing Peter Morin, Alex Carella, and Sami Selio to get onto his teammate’s heels by lap four.
By mid-race Stark had opened a 4.4-second gap to Andersson, who was 15.0s clear of Torrente after Al Qemzi’s retirement. Stark continued to pull away, crossing the line 12.27s ahead of Andersson, with Torrente 22.95s behind in third.
Selio ran fourth after Carella’s retirement on lap 21 and held that position to the flag. Team Amaravati’s Erik Edin had a remarkable race, advancing from 15th on the pontoon to fifth at the finish. Philippe Chiappe took sixth, two laps down, with Filip Roms seventh ahead of Grant Trask, Cedric Deguisne, and Simone Schuft, who collected the final point in tenth.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Emirates Racing’s Marit Stromoy and Bartek Marszalek, retiring on laps 13 and 10 respectively.
For Team Abu Dhabi it has been a remarkable season, its drivers winning every race from pole. Torrente’s third place gave the team a second successive and fifth world drivers’ championship.
UIM F1H2O Grand Prix of Sharjah – result
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Stark | Sweden/UAE | – |
| 2 | Jonas Andersson | Sweden | +12.27s |
| 3 | Shaun Torrente | USA/UAE | +22.95s |
| 4 | Sami Selio | Finland | +25.89s |
| 5 | Erik Edin | Sweden | +28.39s |
| 6 | Philippe Chiappe | France | +2 laps |
| 7 | Filip Roms | Finland | +2 laps |
| 8 | Grant Trask | Australia | +3 laps |
| 9 | Cedric Deguisne | France | +3 laps |
| 10 | Simone Schuft | Germany | +9 laps |
UIM F1H2O World Championship – top 10
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Torrente | USA/UAE | 89 |
| 2 | Erik Stark | Sweden/UAE | 85 |
| 3 | Thani Al Qemzi | UAE | 74 |
| 4 | Peter Morin | France | 54 |
| 5 | Philippe Chiappe | France | 42 |
| 6 | Marit Stromoy | Norway | 35 |
| 7 | Jonas Andersson | Sweden | 29 |
| 8 | Sami Selio | Finland | 28 |
| 9 | Erik Edin | Sweden | 25 |
| 10 | Ahmed Al Hameli | UAE | 18 |
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.
