MEDIA INFORMATION
2025 UIM F1H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
COUNTDOWN TICKS ON AS TEAMS LOOK AHEAD TO OPENING F1H2O SHOWDOWN ON LAKE TOBA
Friday, July 18: The opening round of the 2025 UIM F1H2O World Championship is just over a month away but, as the shipment of boats and equipment makes its way to deepest Sumatra in good time for the first Grand Prix of the season on August 22nd-24th, drivers and team members have been busying themselves in preparation for five races in as many months.
While the main focus will be on the town of Balige on Lake Toba in mid-August, the likes of the F1 Atlantic Team’s Ben Jelf and Duarte Benavente, Strømoy Racing’s Marit Strømoy, the China CTIC Team’s Peter Morin, the Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt and Stefan Arand, Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente and Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi have been keeping match fit by competing in other racing disciplines over recent weeks.
Double World Champion Sami Seliö has been mentoring his 14-year-old son Sisu to become champion in the prestigious World Sailing Zoom8 Championships in Germany. As well as carrying out a test programme with Team Abu Dhabi, Erik Stark has been relaxing with an impressive motor racing simulator to fine tune his reactions in advance of the new season. The Maverick Racing team and Cedric Deguisne have spent a lot of time in the pre-season organising their own race at Mâcon in France, which was the opening round of this year’s French Championship.
Defending champion Jonas Andersson has been relaxing away from the sport in his native Scandinavia, working on water craft, giving rides in his two-seater boat and taking some time on a trial bike away from the high-pressure environment of the F1H2O paddock.
The Frövi resident, who claimed the UIM F1H2O World Championship title in 2021, 2023 and 2024, will team up with Kalle Viippo again this season. His team will revert to running under the Team Sweden banner in 2025, with whom he won the UIM F1H2O Teams’ Championship in 2023. His team-mate has also been preparing behind the scenes for his full-time return as the second driver and was recently involved in an enjoyable Poker Run at Pyhäjärvi in his native Finland.
The first of the one-hour free practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Indonesia will take centre stage on Friday, July 22nd with the opening race of the season set for Sunday, July 24th at 11.15hrs (local time – GMT+7).
Ends