LAKE TOBA, INDONESIA – Technical trouble for defending world champion Jonas Andersson after 17 laps handed the Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt a second successive victory at the Grand Prix of Indonesia after a dramatic race on Sunday morning.
Andersson had led the yellow-flag-interrupted race and looked in control until his sudden stop let Wyatt through to an early five-point lead in the World Championship. Victory Team’s Alec Weckström started and finished second, ahead of F1 Atlantic Team’s Ben Jelf, who claimed his first Grand Prix podium in third.
Wyatt celebrated by diving into Lake Toba from the start pontoon with his crew.
We are back again, baby! We started fourth last year and won it. We started fourth again this year and won it again. Unbelievable, I made a couple of changes overnight and we had a couple of amazing starts. My team-mate Stefan had one heck of a run as well. I saw him in the rear-view mirror on the last restart. It is an amazing day for Sharjah. I love Lake Toba!
Rusty Wyatt
Sharjah Team lead the standings
Wyatt’s young team-mate Stefan Arand finished a strong fourth, giving the Sharjah Team a 10-point lead over the Victory Team in the Teams’ Championship. Marit Strømøy scored for fifth in her four-stroke V8 360 APX Mercury-engined DAC.
China CTIC Team’s Grant Trask impressed in sixth, ahead of Alberto Comparato, his rookie team-mate Damon Cohen, Bartek Marszalek and Ferdinand Zandbergen in 10th. Two-time champion Sami Seliö was 11th, ahead of Team Abu Dhabi rookie Mansoor Al-Mansoori, who finished a lap down on his Grand Prix debut.
China CTIC Team’s Peter Morin and Team Abu Dhabi’s Erik Stark were eliminated in a first-lap collision at the first turn buoy. Shaun Torrente, who won his Sprint race on Saturday and started third, struggled after the first yellow flag and retired from fifth four laps from the end.
How the race unfolded
With strong winds forecast, the race was set at 24 laps of the 2.218km course. Stark had topped the morning warm-up but started seventh after a minor engine issue in qualifying, while Andersson started from pole ahead of Weckström, Torrente, Wyatt, Jelf and Strømøy.
It was calm at lights out and Andersson made a storming start into the commitment buoy, but Stark flipped at speed at the first turn after a heavy collision with Morin, bringing out an immediate yellow flag. Racing resumed on lap seven once debris was cleared and Duarte Benavente, who broke down under the yellow, had been towed away.
Wyatt then passed Weckström for second, with Jelf and a struggling Torrente behind, while Arand moved past Strømøy and then Torrente into fifth. By lap 10 Andersson led Wyatt by 4.297 seconds, with Weckström, Jelf, Arand, Torrente, Strømøy and Trask following. Alexandre Bourgeot withdrew after eight laps.
With 16 boats still running and Al-Mansoori at the rear, nothing changed until lap 17, when leader Andersson suddenly stopped on course and Wyatt swept into the lead. When the green flag flew for the last time with four laps left, Wyatt held a narrow lead over Weckström and kept his nerve to seal back-to-back Lake Toba wins. Torrente withdrew on lap 22, moving Strømøy up to fifth. Team Sweden’s Johan Österberg retired late on, and Maverick Racing’s Cédric Deguisne stopped three laps from the end despite a pre-race engine change.
Result
- Rusty Wyatt (CAN) Sharjah Team – 24 laps
- Alec Weckström (FIN) Victory Team – +4.882sec
- Ben Jelf (GBR) F1 Atlantic Team – +11.003sec
- Stefan Arand (EST) Sharjah Team – +16.222sec
- Marit Strømøy (NOR) Strømøy Racing – +20.278sec
- Grant Trask (AUS) China CTIC Team – +22.340sec
- Alberto Comparato (ITA) Comparato F1 Team – +28.791sec
- Damon Cohen (AUS) Comparato F1 Team – +30.590sec
- Bartek Marszalek (POL) Strømøy Racing – +33.382sec
- Ferdinand Zandbergen (NED) Red Devil-SMC F1 Team – +36.982sec
- Sami Seliö (FIN) Red Devil-SMC F1 Team – +39.742sec
- Mansoor Al-Mansoori (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi – 1 lap behind
Did not finish: Johan Österberg, Cédric Deguisne, Shaun Torrente, Jonas Andersson, Alexandre Bourgeot, Duarte Benavente, Peter Morin, Erik Stark.