Thursday, December 18: Team Abu Dhabi’s Erik Stark has not enjoyed the best of seasons since his return to the team with whom he won the Grand Prix of Sharjah in 2018 on his way to second position in the UIM F1H2O World Championship behind current series leader and three-time champion Shaun Torrente.
But the Swede is upbeat about his chances this weekend and is determined to finish the year on a high note and give the team a confidence boost heading into 2026.
Speaking from a gloomy pit area on Khalid Lagoon on Thursday afternoon, with rumbles of thunder echoing around the downtown Sharjah area, the Swede said: “At the beginning of the week, the weather was looking quite bad, but now it is looking better, like normal Sharjah weather. This is always a tricky course with a little bit of wind. It is one of the hardest courses on the calendar. The water gets so choppy, but it is calm enough that we can still go full speed. It is very hard for the drivers.
“This whole season didn’t go as planned or what we were hoping for. We learned a lot and we have a lot of plans for next year. We will forget this season and move on to the next one. Saying that, I won here in 2018 with Team Abu Dhabi. It would be very nice for the whole team to be able to finish the season at least with a podium.”
Former team-mate and championship leader Torrente is a strong favourite to secure a fourth title but the Florida-based Victory Team driver has been leaving nothing to chance in the build-up to the race. He kept his hand in last weekend with a couple of offshore races in Dubai and was also delighted with a test session with his F1H2O equipment.
The American heads into the weekend with a 14-point advantage in the Drivers’ Championship and was in a relaxed mood in the pits on Thursday. He joked: “According to the Emiratis, this is the best weather ever. It should be alright. We will figure it out as we go. It’s the same for everybody.
“If the boat runs like it did a few days ago in Dubai, I don’t have much to worry about. It was awesome. We just have to have a good race and do our thing, like normal. I’ve done this so many times that I realised a long time ago that I can’t control what I cannot control. I drive the boat. If it goes my way, it goes my way. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t make me any more or less of a driver. Of course, I want to win number four, but there is only so much I can do.
“We are continuing to build on the form in Jeddah. I have a few more propellers here, based on what we learned in Jeddah and how well that went. The guys in the engine shop have been absolutely killing themselves to give me even more power and reliability. What I ran the other day in Dubai, for here, was the best I have ever had on the boat. It was really great. I ran 15 laps and now I want to drive it.
“Free practice for us will be just about checking the set-up and balance of the boat is good, depending on the weather. I already know within two propellers what I am going to qualify with and I already know which propeller I am going to race, pretty much. We will also try two different engines. One has a little more power and the other is a little more reliable. We will test both.”
Tomorrow morning (Friday) several drivers will join VIPs and race officials for the pre-race press conference at the Sharjah Holiday International Hotel.
A two-hour free practice session is scheduled from 14:00hrs.
