China's Xiangyang holds top motorboat racing championship

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Nineteen competitors of nine top international motorboat racing teams from 12 countries competed in central China's Xiangyang Grand Prix of the 2018 Formula One H2O World Championship between Sept. 21 and 23.

After more than an hour of competition on Saturday's qualifying, Sean Dorente of Abu Dhabi won the pole position and Philippe Chiappe of China's Shenzhen Tianrong F1 team steadily pushed forward to the top of the third round.

China Tianrong, who won the world championship three times in a row from 2014 to 2016, sent out two strong French racers, Chiappe and Peter Morin, who have contributed 53 points from the last three races of the season as China Tianrong is currently second in the overall championship standings.

Motor boats race during the 2018 Formula One H20 World Championship in Xiangyang, China, September 21. /VCG Photo

Chiappe performed steadily in qualifying, showing good athletic performances.

Abu Dhabi continued their good performance in qualifying with Dorente and Swedish Eric Stark finishing in the top two.

Another Swedish veteran, Jonas Anderson, placed third in the session.

H2O Racing, sanctioned by the world governing body of power boating, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), exclusively promotes three World Championships: the Aquabike World Championships, the Formula One H2O World Championship and the H2O Nations Cup.

The UIM Formula One H2O World Championship is the flagship championship of single-seater inshore circuit racing. Established in 1984, it has become the longest running, most successful and professionally managed series in the world of powerboat racing.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency