Team Abu Dhabi’s Al Qemzi, Sharjah Team’s Wyatt, Victory Team duo among casualties as championship heads for big finish in UAE

Zhengzhou, China, 19th October, 2024: Sweden’s Jonas Andersson cruised to victory in the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, China today to take the lead in the 2024 UIM F1H2O World Championship, which now heads for a tense climax in Sharjah.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al Qemzi was among the casualties in an incident-paced race which saw Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt lose his championship lead when halted by mechanical problems, while a collision between Erik Stark and Ahmad Al Fahim took out both Victory Team drivers.

Defending world champion Andersson now carries a three-point lead over Canadian rookie Wyatt into December’s final round in Sharjah, with Frenchman Peter Morin up into third spot in the standings above Stark following his second-place finish.

Al Qemzi’s early retirement with technical issues completed a trail of misfortune in Zhengzhou for Team Abu Dhabi, for whom five-time F2 world champion Rashed Al Qemzi was unable to start the Grand Prix following his problems in yesterday’s sprint race.

The team will now look to round off the season with a much-improved showing on Khalid Lagoon in Sharjah, where Thani Al Qemzi made his F1H2O debut back in 2020, and finished third last year, one of his 45 podium finishes.

Andersson had already secured his second world title before the championship arrived in Sharjah last season. He went on to record his fourth successive race victory, and Wyatt will be aiming to prevent a repeat performance in two months’ time.

Sharjah Team’s Canadian rookie has been enjoying a brilliant debut season in the championship, with wins in Indonesia, Sardinia and most recently Shanghai.

He began to lose pace in the early stages today, however, eventually coming to halt after 14 laps, but will look to quickly shrug off the setback in the hope of securing the drivers’ title for the team on home waters.

The penultimate round of the championship in Zhengzhou had barely got under way when Stark and Al Fahim collided, sending the two Victory boats out of the race, while the opening lap also saw American Brent Dillard barrel-roll to a halt.

China has been a happy hunting in the past for Team Abu Dhabi veteran Al Qemzi, with two of his ten race wins arriving there, but his 157th career Grand Prix was brought to a halt after two laps.

After securing his 13th pole position followed quickly by a sprint race victory yesterday, Andersson looked fully in control again today as he recorded his 15th Grand Prix win, with almost ten seconds to spare over Morin. Finland’s two-time world champion, Sami Selio, took the third podium spot.

2024 UIM F1H2O World Championship standings

1. Jonas Andersson (SWE)                 99                   

2. Rusty Wyatt (CAN)                        96pts

3. Peter Morin (FRA)                         79.5

4. Erik Stark (SWE)                            77.5

5. Bartek Marszalek (POL)                 64

6. Sami Selio (FIN)                             52

7. Marit Stromoy (NOR)                   42

6. Stefan Arand (EST)                                    34.5

9. Ferdinand Zandbergen (NED)        30.5    

10. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE)                27.5