Wednesday, November 20: Team Vietnam have confirmed that flying Finn Kalle Viippo will step in to replace the recovering Stefan Arand for the Road to Sharjah-Grand Prix of Sharjah on December 6th-8th.
Arand suffered a spectacular crash in China last month and the talented young Estonian racer wants to be 100% sure that he is fully recovered and prepared before he returns to high-speed action.
Team Vietnam's Jonas Andersson said: “Obviously the team is sorry that Stefan isn’t quite ready to return to Grand Prix action but we all fully understand his decision. Everyone connected with the team wishes him a speedy recovery. We know Kalle well and I am glad he is coming back to the team. He was my partner in Team Sweden and I am sure he will do a great job at the last race of the year. I am sure he will be able to contribute to our push to secure the Teams’ Championship.”
Team Vietnam currently heads the hosting Sharjah Team by 10.5 points in the quest for the prestigious Teams’ Championship. Viippo, 25, resides in the town of Forssa and is a veteran of 13 Grand Prix starts since making his F1H2O debut at San Nazarro in 2021. He finished ninth, 10th and 13th in the last three Drivers’ World Championships.
Andersson, meanwhile, heads to the UAE and the race venue on Khalid Lagoon at the start of next month with a slender three-point lead over Rusty Wyatt in the Drivers’ Championship. Both the China CTIC Team’s Peter Morin and the Victory Team’s Stark could also still have a say in the destiny of this year’s UIM F1H2O World Championship.
