On Saturday, October 19, Team Vietnam’s Jonas Andersson seized a crucial victory at the New Development Grand Prix of Zhengzhou-China, leading from start to finish on the Yellow River. With his title rivals Erik Stark and Rusty Wyatt forced to retire—Stark after an early collision and Wyatt due to mechanical failure—Andersson's win puts him in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship by three points, heading into the final round in Sharjah this December. His win also pushes Team Vietnam ahead in the Teams’ Championship.
“It was actually very easy," Andersson said of his victory. "The course was rough, so I had to be careful. After the parade lap, we changed the prop to get more speed and it worked perfectly. The boat was easy to drive, and once I had a six or seven-second lead, I focused on keeping it steady. It was a tough weekend, but we worked hard, and now we’re back on top.”
Blustery conditions and high attrition rates marked the race, with only 12 drivers finishing. Peter Morin from the China CTIC Team held on to second place, fending off two-time World Champion Sami Seliö, who finished third. The difficult conditions saw several drivers struggle, including Wyatt, whose title hopes were dashed when his boat failed on lap 14.
“It was a very difficult race,” said Morin. “The water was rough and windy, and we had to focus on staying safe rather than attacking Andersson. Finishing second is a great result for us.”
The race started in chaos, with an early collision between Ahmad Al-Fahim and Stark, and China CTIC Team’s Brent Dillard crashing out dramatically on the first lap. Yellow flags interrupted the action as the course was cleared, but once racing resumed, Andersson never relinquished his lead.
Seliö, despite tough conditions, was pleased with his podium finish: “The minimum goal is always to finish on the podium, and I’m happy we made it through such a hard race to take third.”
Behind the top three, Bartek Marszalek of Strømøy Racing finished fourth, while Red Devil SMC F1's Ferdinand Zandbergen rounded out the top five. Alexandre Bourgeot of Maverick Racing enjoyed his best race of the season with a sixth-place finish, ahead of Marit Strømøy, Ben Jelf, and Duarte Benavente.
Andersson’s win sets up an exciting championship showdown in Sharjah, where both the Drivers' and Teams' titles are still up for grabs.
