Azerbaijan 2nd among 20 in world powerboat champ - result quite good

Source: AzerNews

Azerbaijan team member, Swedish driver Jonas Andersson ranked second among 20 riders from 11 countries at the Baku stage of 2013 UIM Formula 2 World Powerboat Championships held on July 6-7.

Sweden driver Eric Stark from GeTel Racing again became the winner of the race, while the third place went to Latvian driver Uvis Slakteris from the Riga Powerboat team.

A special prize went to Sweden driver Bimba Sjoholm, whose boat flipped over during the second stage of the championship.

Thus, after two stages, the championship's first three standings are the following, Eric Stark with 40 points, Jonas Andersson with 30 points, and Ola Pettersson with 12 points.

The second stage of UIM Formula 2 World Powerboat Championships, taking place on the shores of the Caspian Sea, a 1,810 meter challenging course, attracted a lot of spectators eager to watch the inaugural Azerbaijan powerboat race and root for the only representative of the country.

According to Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Ismail Ismailov, the main purpose of holding this competition in Azerbaijan is to promote this sport in the country.

"Such events are of great importance for bringing together young people and athletes of the world. Though this is the first competition of this kind in Azerbaijan, the organization is at a high level," Ismailov said at a briefing on July 5.

The event is also expected to increase the tourist inflow to Azerbaijan.

According to the Azerbaijan Powerboat Federation President Ibrahim Ibrahimov, after the championship, the interest in powerboat sport will increase in Azerbaijan. Ibrahimov expressed hope that in the future Azerbaijan will be represented by local athletes.

Ibrahimov said Azerbaijan participates in the F2 championships since 2008 and in general ranks high.

The competition was supported by the Azerbaijani government, Youth and Sport Ministry, the UIM International Rowing Association, in assistance with the Azerbaijan Powerboat Association and S2 Sport Sicurezza organization.

F2 is the first competition of a number of competitions to be held in Baku prior to the inaugural European Olympic Games due in the Azerbaijani capital in 2015.

Andersson started racing in 1998 and almost immediately made it to the F2000 competition where he accomplished tremendous success scoring well in the Scandinavian series before making the big leap to the F2000 World Championship, winning the title twice in 2003 and 2004.

Azerbaijan Powerboat Federation was established in 2008 and began to participate in international tournaments in 2009. The same year the Federation won the race in St. Petersburg, Russia. Moreover, in 2011, it won the tournament in China.