BINH DINH - Motorboats from the Vietnamese team and eight other teams from around the world competed at speeds of 250 km/h, causing waves to surge in Thi Nai Lagoon.
On March 29th, at Thi Nai Lagoon, Quy Nhon, 18 racers from 9 teams competed in the qualifying round to determine the starting positions for the second leg of the UIM F1H2O World Championship 2024. The first leg took place in Balige-Lake Toba, Indonesia from March 1-3.
Formula 1 motorboats made their debut in Vietnam, creating thrilling chases interspersed with skillful turns on the waves.
The winner of this morning's qualifying session was Erik Stark, the Swedish driver for the Victory Dubai (UAE) team, driving boat number 4 with a time of 43.657 seconds. This is his seventh pole position in his career and his first since the 2018 Sharjah Grand Prix. Stark is a veteran of the F1 H2O World Championship with 44 races to his name.
Following Stark, 0.293 seconds slower, was Jonas Andersson – another Swedish racer driving the number 1 boat, and the reigning world champion, competing for the Binh Dinh team from Vietnam.
Andersson, 49, won two of the last three seasons – 2021 and 2023 – with Team Sweden. He has started 114 times in the F1 H2O World Championship, including 11 pole positions and 31 podium finishes.
The other racer from the Binh Dinh - Vietnam team, Stefan Arand, finished third in the qualifying round with a time of 44.025 seconds. Arand is from Estonia and is only 20 years old. He has won seven world junior titles and nine European junior championships. Last year, Arand received the Best Racer of the Year award from the Estonian Motorboat Federation.
The racer from China steered the motorboat as if flying across the water, with the Nhon Hoi Bridge – one of the longest sea bridges in the country – in the background.
The race in Binh Dinh, taking place from March 29 to 31, is the second of eight races in the UIM F1H2O World Championship, which will be held worldwide in 2024.
Tomorrow, March 30th, the racers will compete in the Sprint section. Each track in this round varies in size, but is typically around 2,000 meters long. Each track has at least one long straight section and many sharp turns, mostly left turns, with one or two right turns. This Sprint section was added in 2023 to calculate the individual performance of the racers. Racers will be drawn into two stages. The winner of each stage will receive points, based on the UIM scoring system.
According to Raimondo di San German, CEO of H2O Racing, the organizer of the race, Binh Dinh is a new destination for the UIM F1H2O World Championship. Organizing the race at Thi Nai Lagoon is an important step, demonstrating H2O Racing's commitment to expanding the scope of water sports and providing new experiences for both drivers and spectators.
In Vietnam, the Ministry of Interior has decided to establish a Federation of Underwater Motorboat Racing. According to Mr. Tran Viet Anh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Binh Dinh F1 Joint Stock Company, the company is about to open an academy to train in water motorboat and boat racing, and is trying to organize a National Water Motorboat Racing Championship in the next few years.
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