Edgaras Riabko put his boat on pole position for Sunday’s Gran Premio d’Italia, setting a 39.210-second lap in the Q3 shootout on the Adriatic harbour circuit in Brindisi to head a competitive qualifying session for the UIM F2 World Championship.
The Lithuanian driver, running boat #41, told Powerboat News the lap came on a single opportunity after a yellow flag period: “My radio man told me, ‘Hey, this is your lap. Only one lap, do it. Because now it’s less boats, less waves, and you can do it.’ So I turned it.”
The Q3 time was 0.6 seconds quicker than anyone else in the shootout. “I have one good propeller,” Riabko said. “This morning I was testing other props, five blade props and other props, but I knew that I had a card and I put it in the coupon and it worked.”
Peter Morin qualified second with a 39.480, though the Frenchman was left with concerns heading into Sunday. “It was a rough fight,” Morin said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know why, but we cannot go until the end of Q3. We were eating a bit, a bit, and unfortunately we stopped before the end. We hope that nothing is serious on the mechanics.”
Morin changed propeller after the yellow flag period. “I think I did the maximum with the prop before, and it was like some winning bet.”
Giacomo Sacchi qualified third on 39.856, ahead of Hilmer Wiberg on 39.864. Wiberg had suffered trim issues through qualifying. Defending world champion Mathilda Wiberg, who topped Free Practice 1 and sat out Free Practice 2, qualified fifth with a 39.968, having experienced an unknown technical problem during the session. Nelson Morin completed the Q3 field in sixth on 39.976.
Q1 was disrupted by a collision between Mette Bjerknæs (#9) and Jarno Vilmunen (#4). Bjerknæs posted a 52.617-second lap before the incident; Vilmunen did not set a time and will start from the back of the grid. Bjerknæs did not progress to Q2.
Sam Whittle (#30) qualified 11th overall, reaching Q2 with a 43.149. The British driver split an oil tank during the day and his team face overnight repairs ahead of Sunday’s race.
