Hilmer Wiberg took pole position and won Heat 1 on Saturday night at the 2026 UIM F2 European Championship at Viverone.
His sister Mathilda was second, with Norway’s Andrè Solvang third.
The story of the heat was Edgaras Riabko.
The Lithuanian crossed the water in second place, 9.860 seconds behind Wiberg. A two-position penalty under Rule 307.02, governing the run from the start to the first turn, dropped him to fourth in the classification.
Wiberg’s start came down to reading the situation rather than the lights.
Hilmer Wiberg:
I watched F4 and they say it will be a flag start. I just looked at the boat instead of the lights.
He held the lead into the first turn and never gave it up.
It went great, you know, it’s the first time, I guess I was faster this time.
Behind him, Riabko’s race was compromised at the same first turn that decided his penalty. He described a small marker buoy lifting on the wash of the boats ahead of him as the field jumped away from the start.
Edgaras Riabko:
The main problem was there were no lights, so we had to look to the right, where it was the rescue boat. I saw the flag, but the main problem was that in front of me it was a small plastic buoy, and when they jumped on the start my buoy just jumped up and I couldn’t see where it was. So I made a chicane, the start was very bad. I think I crossed his line because of this small buoy. I was very angry, because the organisers must take all this out of the start, it’s incredible.
Peter Morin, who finished fifth, described the same moment from the other side of it.
Peter Morin:
It was a bit difficult, some problem with the start procedure, the engine didn’t work as it could have. Then we did what we can do, and you see the result.
Morin said he knew immediately he could not fight back for position once the contact happened, and separately described a mid-heat yellow flag warning from his radio that turned out not to apply, costing him momentum on top of the start.
Third-placed Andrè Solvang was among the happiest drivers on the pontoon.
Andrè Solvang:
I’m really happy. It was a really good start. I managed to keep them behind, then I’m just super happy with the result.
Source: John Moore – powerboat.news
