18 Formula One powerboats race on Thi Nai lagoon

BINH DINH - Motorboats from the Vietnamese team and 8 teams from around the world competed at a speed of 250 km/h, causing waves in Thi Nai lagoon.

On March 29, at Thi Nai lagoon, Quy Nhon, 18 racers from 9 teams participated in the qualifying competition, competing for the starting position of the second leg of the 2024 UIM F1H2O World Championship. The first leg took place at Balige-Lake Toba, Indonesia from March 1-3.

The nine competing teams are: Binh Dinh - Vietnam, CTIC China Team (China), Stromoy Racing (Norway), F1 Atlantic Team (Portugal), Maverick Racing (France), Victory Dubai (UAE), Sharjah Team (UAE), The Red Devil-SMC F1 Team (Finland). Each team has two racers, each racer controls a motorboat.

From early morning, spectators filled the stands to cheer on the racers, and admire what is considered the world's fastest motorboat race.

Similar to F1 racing, qualifying is very important, because the winning driver will take pole position - the starting position. The pole position will have an advantage in the corners, while the positions behind will be at a disadvantage because of the resistance created by the waves from the boat in front. Qualifying consists of three races, each timed as Q1 (lasting 20 minutes), Q2 (15 minutes) and Q3 (10 minutes).

Formula 1 motorboats made their debut in Vietnam, creating dramatic chases mixed with skillful turns on the waves.

The Formula One Powerboat Race is an opportunity to promote the beauty of Thi Nai Lagoon to international friends. According to the organizers, Thi Nai Lagoon is a suitable place to hold a Formula One Powerboat Race due to many factors such as depth, wind strength, etc.

Spectators watching the motorboat race can see the wind farm on Thi Nai lagoon, helping to promote policies to attract "green" investors to the locality.

The racing motorboats resemble a school of dolphins playing in the water.

This morning’s qualifying was won by Swedish driver Erik Stark of Victory Dubai (UAE) in boat number 4 with a time of 43.657 seconds. This is the seventh time in his career that he has won pole position and the first time since the 2018 Sharjah Grand Prix. Stark is a veteran of the F1 H2O World Championship with 44 races under his belt.

Behind Stark, 0.293 seconds slower, was Jonas Andersson - another Swedish racer in boat number 1, and the reigning world champion, competing for the Binh Dinh - Vietnam team.

Andersson, 49, has 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 podiums.

The other racer from the Binh Dinh - Vietnam team, Stefan Arand, finished the third qualifying round with 44.025 seconds. Arand is an Estonian, only 20. He has won seven world junior titles and nine European junior championships. Last year, Arand was awarded the Estonian Powerboat Federation's Rider of the Year award.

A racer from China controls a motorboat as if flying over the water, behind is Nhon Hoi Bridge - one of the longest sea-crossing bridges in the country.

The race in Binh Dinh, taking place from March 29 to 31, is the second of eight UIM F1H2O World Championship races to be held around the world in 2024.

Tomorrow, March 30, the racers will enter the Sprint. Accordingly, each track in this round has different dimensions, but is usually about 2,000 meters long. Each track has at least one long straight and many sharp corners, mainly left turns, with one or two right turns. This Sprint was added in 2023 to calculate the individual results of the racers. The racers will be drawn to be divided into 2 stages. The winner of each stage will be converted to points, based on the UIM scoring system.

According to Mr. Raimondo di San German - CEO of H2O Racing, the tournament organizer, Binh Dinh is the new destination of the UIM F1H2O World Championship. Organizing the race at Thi Nai lagoon is an important step, proving H2O Racing's commitment to expanding the scope of water sports, bringing new experiences to both racers and spectators.

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to establish the Water Motor Boat Racing Federation. According to Mr. Tran Viet Anh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Binh Dinh F1 Joint Stock Company, this unit is about to open an academy to train in water motorbike and boat racing, and is trying to organize the National Water Motor Boat Racing Championship in the next few years.

Dung Nhan - Pham Linh

Vnexpress.net

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