Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente moved to the top of the 2026 F1H2O World Championship after winning the first Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan at Issyk-Kul on Sunday.
The American started second behind pole-sitter Jonas Andersson. He made the better start and led into the opening turn.
Torrente built a gap of more than 12 seconds before a yellow flag brought the field back together. The stoppage came after Ben Jelf overturned 14 laps into the race.
Torrente stayed in control at the restart and pulled clear again. Andersson later lost power and fell from second place, allowing Team Abu Dhabi’s Erik Stark to move through.
According to the official F1H2O results, Torrente completed the 41-lap race 4.73 seconds ahead of Stark.
Marit Stromoy took third after Victory Team’s Alec Weckstrom received a one-lap penalty for failing to hold his lane at the restart.
Eighteen drivers took part in the first F1H2O race held in Kyrgyzstan.
The win gave Torrente 20 points from the Grand Prix. He had also earned 10 points by winning his sprint race on Saturday.
Torrente now has 40 points for the season, four ahead of Sharjah Team driver Stefan Arand in the 2026 F1H2O standings.
Arand arrived in Kyrgyzstan as the championship leader after winning the opening Grand Prix in Cagliari. He scored eight points in the sprint race at Issyk-Kul but retired from Sunday’s main race on lap 18 with an engine problem.
Torrente leads the standings for the first time this season. The four-time world champion has confirmed that he will retire from F1H2O at the end of 2026.
Khaled bin Dasmal, a board member of Dubai International Marine Club and head of the Victory Team delegation, said the result came from the team’s work before and during the season.
Victory Team will take a four-point lead into the next round, with Torrente on 40 points and Arand on 36.
