MEDIA INFORMATION
2024 UIM F1H2O WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
DOMINANT JONAS ANDERSSON WINS SECOND FREE PRACTICE SESSION IN OLBIA
Friday, June 14: Defending World Champion Jonas Andersson claimed the confidence boost of topping the times in the second of the free practice sessions for the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy in Olbia on Friday afternoon.
The Team Vietnam driver followed up his quickest time in session one to card a lap of 36.974sec in the second stint and that put the Swede 0.014 seconds ahead of Canadian Rusty Wyatt in the lap times. Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi had been second quickest in session one and followed that with another useful set of lap times to slot into third place. The CTIC China Team’s Peter Morin and Al-Qamzi’s team-mate Alberto Comparato rounded off the top five.
Wyatt benefitted from calmer waters at the start of the second session to record the quickest lap of the weekend so far – a run of 36.988sec – that put the Sharjah Team driver at the top of the leader board at the start of the session. The only other driver to take to the water in the opening minutes was Comparato and he carded an impressive run of 37.868sec.
Morin opened his account with a 37.943sec run, Al-Qamzi bettered his first session times with a tour of 37.126sec and Morin’s team-mate Brent Dillard shaved two seconds off the times he had set in the first practice stint.
Andersson’s opening lap at race pace earned the Swede top spot with a best run of the day of 36.974sec and then a yellow flag interrupted proceedings for a short time with 35 minutes on the clock when the Red Devil-SMC F1 Team’s Sami Seliö lost his fuel tank cover.
The F1 Atlantic Team’s Duarte Benavente suffered engine issues after just one lap of the opening free practice session and the team changed the powerplant in the Portuguese driver’s Moore hull in preparation for qualifying and the Sprint race on Saturday. As a result, Benavente sat out the stint alongside Seliö’s team-mate Ferdinand Zandbergen and Maverick Racing’s Cédric Deguisne.
On-water action resumes with the all-important qualifying sessions from 10.00hrs on Saturday.
2024 UIM F1H2O World Championship – free practice 2:
- Jonas Andersson (SWE) Team Vietnam 36.974sec
- Rusty Wyatt (CAN) Sharjah Team 36.988sec
- Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 37.126sec
- Peter Morin (FRA) China CTIC Team 37.560sec
- Alberto Comparato (ITA) Team Abu Dhabi 37.622sec
- Stefan Arand (EST) Team Vietnam 38.466sec
- Brent Dillard (USA) China CTIC Team 38.506sec
- Bartek Marszalek (POL) Strømøy Racing 38.735sec
- Erik Stark (SWE) Victory Team 38.977sec
- Marit Strømøy (NOR) Strømøy Racing 39.203sec
- Ahmad Al-Fahim (UAE) Victory Team 39.600sec
- Sami Seliö (FIN) Red Devil-SMC F1 Team 40.251sec
- Filip Roms (FIN) Sharjah Team 40.478sec
- Ben Jelf (GBR) F1 Atlantic Team 41.475sec
- Alexandre Bourgeot (FRA) Maverick Racing 41.752sec
Ferdinand Zandbergen (NLD) Red Devil-SMC F1 Team DNS
Duarte Benavente (POR) F1 Atlantic Team DNS
Cédric Deguisne (FRA) Maverick Racing DNS
Ends