On both of those occasions it was twice F2 World Champion Pierre Lundin taking the top honours, but back in 2015 it was Matthew Palfreyman who produced by far the ‘drive of the day’. The hard charging British driver had started from ninth on the grid, then clawed his way through the field up to second place, with some ‘never say die’ overtaking manoeuvres that had the Norwegian spectators screaming with excitement. As if that wasn’t enough the pair produced another enthralling battle the following year. Palfreyman was back to his best, pleasing the crowds with his bravado performance of driving that had earned him much praise the year before. He briefly lead the race from Lundin, when the Swede was caught out by the rough conditions but eventually had to settle for second.

This year he’s back but Palfreyman and the Kingfisher Fire & Security Team were not originally intending on travelling to Tønsberg. Instead they had planned to compete at the British Sprint Championship which is due to take place on the same weekend. When asked about that decision Team Manager and owner Ian Blacker said ‘We are all really proud of Matthew and what he achieved at the opening round of the World Championship. He drove and handled the boat really well.’ Blacker continued by saying, ‘Having made such a good start we’ve taken the decision to fully support him and give him the best possible chance of challenging for the world title by changing our plans and travelling to Norway.’

When asked about being given the opportunity to race once again in Tønsberg, Palfreyman said, ‘

I’m extremely pleased the team has decided to support me in this way, enabling me to compete there is much more than I expected. I really didn’t think there would be any chance due to the date clash. As the current World Championship leader it now gives me the best opportunity possible to secure as many points as I can in my battle for the 2024 title.’

So with Lundin long since retired from F2, who now could thwart Palfreyman’s chances of taking the top step of the podium. At the previous round, the Monaco based driver Giacomo Sacchi, who is amongst those heading to Tønsberg for the first time, out qualified him in the rough conditions. Perhaps it could be another debutant in the form of Sweden’s Mathilda Wiberg, who loves nothing more than throwing her Mølgaard into the corners and is probably looking forward to another ‘rough and tumble’ weekend on the water.

Then there are those you have recently become Tønsberg podium regulars like Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi. The reigning F2 World Champion finished in the top three back in 2017 and again at the last Norwegian Grand Prix held in 2019. Most people will though remember his huge start run crash with Frode Sundsdal during the 2018 race that both drivers were extremely fortunate to walk away from. The UAE racer will certainly be looking to kick-start his title defence in Tønsberg after a disappointing sixth place finish at the previous round.

Second place in this year’s championship is currently held by Edgaras Riabko. He has had mixed fortunes when he’s raced previously in what is generally regarded as the oldest city in Norway. Back in 2015 he was barely on the water when his Grand Prix finished after just three minutes. Last time out he recorded his highest placed finish of eighth place. Now with his 2024 mind set of ‘Just let me race’ the former Lithuanian Grand Prix organiser has the potential to put together a string of good results as he closes in on his first F2 world championship title.

Making her best ever start to the season was Mette Bjerknes who secured nine World Championship points, just missing a trip to the podium steps in the process. She described the opening round as a long, hard race through rough water conditions in thirty-five-degree heat. ‘I’m really proud to have finished in fourth place after starting from eleventh position on the pontoon. We still have improvements to make, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction.’ Although she now makes her home in the UK she will be guaranteed a warm welcome back to her homeland by the thousand of spectators gathered along the Tønsberg Pier.

One Norwegian name that’s missing from the entry list is that of the recently crowned Nordic F2 Champion Frode Sundsdal. Although a racer through and through he has decided to concentrate his efforts one hundred per cent on making the Tønsberg Båtrace as successful as he and his Tønsberg Motorsport Club colleagues can do.

‘The last time we held a round of the UIM F2 World Championship was back in 2019 when the former Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, took the opportunity to visit the race. There she met the President of the UIM, Raffaele Chiulli and our own Viking, Geir Magne Rørvik. This really helped solidify our reputation of putting on a superb free sports event for everyone and we believe that is one of the success factors that has made this a great public festival for Norway. I really hope that our international guests once again love the atmosphere at the Brygga and that we can create an unforgettable experience for all those who attend.’

Of course I’m delighted to welcome the drivers back to the Tønsberg Båtrace’ said Sundsdal, now Chairman of the recently established Tønsberg Motorsport Club, who will run the UIM F2 World Championship round on its traditional first weekend in August date. ‘The club is now established; sponsorship agreements are falling into place and most importantly the agreement with the Union International Motonautic (UIM) has been signed for the 2024 season giving us the ‘green light’ to host the event.

‘Tønsberg Motorsport Club is a newcomer in the Norwegian powerboat family, in line with our strategy to enlarge the sport in Norway’ said Mr Svein Henriksen,

Head of the Norwegian Powerboat Section at the NMF. He continued by saying that the NMF were excited to see the F2 Worlds returning to Tønsberg this August.

‘We are convinced that the organiser Tønsberg Motorsport Club, headed by Mr Sundsdal who is certainly no newcomer, will put on a show which racers and the public will certainly appreciate.’

In setting up the club Sundsdal was very keen to include younger members on its board, amongst them will be the UIM GT30 World Champion William Martinsen, who collected the HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Abu Dhabi Trophy at the UIM award ceremony in Monaco. Joining him in the decision-making process will be Camilla Øksenholt, who is no stranger to the Båtrace as her mother Joyce Christine Andersen was often described as the ‘glue’ that held the race weekend together whilst working for Tønsberg Båtrace AS and in her role of Deputy OOD.

Sundsdal continued  in saying,

We educate the youth on how to race a boat, which I’m a great believer in but at the same time we must encourage them to get involve with perhaps the less ‘glamourous’ side and that’s organising race events, because without getting young talented people like William and Camilla on board there will be no more races in the future, this is the true meaning of sustainability.’

 

Although the 2024 version of the Båtrace is still work in progress, Sundsdal is keen to see the action getting under way on the Friday evening with an Opening Ceremony followed by the Speed Run and then the drivers from the UIM F2 World Championship competing in a Match Race alongside the restaurants on the pier.

As an organiser I personally believe that the current race format needs updating along similar lines that the F1H2O series are now using. I wanted to make those changes but soon realized that I could only do so whilst working with the Formulae Committee Chairman Pelle Larson. So, for the moment we have changed our strategy to allow this UIM race to take place. As the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’

The Tønsberg Batrace has never failed to leave us with some talking points to discuss. Whether it was the tussle between the hard charging Matt Palfreyman and Pierre Lundin through the misty rain or that time Erik Edin barrel rolled his Molgaard and still finished on the podium. This event has also left us with a few heart stopping moments none more so than the crash between Sundsdal and Rashed Al Qemzi which happened on the opening lap during the 2018 race. Fortunately, both drivers escaped unhurt and whilst Al Qemzi is now a four-time UIM F2 World Champion, Sundsdal has been carefully building up his business portfolio and has signed up several partners that were involved during the pre-Covid days and he is very optimistic that several more will now follow.

He concluded by stating,

The future looks much brighter now for both Tønsberg and the UIM F2 World Championship. We’ve already hosted a very successful Tønsberg Boatshow during the first weekend of May. Additionally, the 2024 Death Diving World Tour had its opening competition on May 18th, drawing a crowd of 15,000 spectators and featuring 40 athletes from seven nations. The event, organized by RaceFactory and Tønsberg Motorsport Club, left the town in awe with its breathtaking competition.”

The second-round venue of Cariati, due a week after Brindisi has already disappeared from the UIM calendar potentially leaving just three races starting in Klaipeda, Lithuania in early August followed by two races in Portugal in mid-September.

Jamey Stallard from JRM Racing, who came over to Tonsberg had plenty to say about this fiasco.

“Is it really seven months after the last round of the 2022 UIM F2 World Championship? And still the world is in the dark as to the final positions of the competitors as the UIM cannot work it out! At long last I believe the last ICA hearing has concluded with a decision which will enable the final standing positions to be announced and prize monies issued.”

“Seven months since the engine measuring shambles commenced and still the F2 teams are waiting for confirmation on how to measure their engines. First, COMINTECH for their wisdom didn’t even understand the UIM rules in the BLUE pages, or how to measure ports correctly, even after having been told by a senior UIM delegate that they were wrong.”

“Yet again our ‘technical’ committee (COMINTECH) have not helped F2. We were promised that we would have approval to the method of measurements within a week of the drivers vote to be added as a directive to accompany the Homologation File. Some five weeks have past and Mikael Lundblad the President of COMINTECH has now requested more information in a different format than the one that was sent to him after our vote.”

“Last week the response from the head of  COMINTECH was ‘I’m too busy’ and he wants the voted measurement amendment to be set out differently than what it was presented to him! I have suggested that the teams ask the Formula Committee Chairman Chris Loney to write immediately to COMINTECH asking for their exact requirement so we can get this sorted without further delay.”

“Ok, so 2023 looks like a three-round championship. It is what it is, so we have to make one hundred percent sure that these events are as successful as they can by supporting them in whatever way we can.”

“I have contacted potential event organisers with a view to the 2024 season, both in mainland Europe and the UK. Hopefully, we can direct them to the UIM to carry out the correct procedures to request a calendar date and then get a contract of intent signed immediately before the dates are ‘rubber stamped’. Probably to the distaste of the UIM Secretary General Thomas Kurth but what’s he done for us this year?”

“COMINTECH as I’ve said before has almost killed F2. How can anyone in F2 sell themselves to sponsors without knowing if their engines are legal to compete in 2023? How can we tell the world where we actually finished in 2022 championship? How can we present a credible sport to people if the UIM show complete lack of competence and cannot even produce a confirmed calendar for 2023?”

“Yes, there are some UIM delegates who have and are still trying to resolve these issues, but they along with anyone who asks the UIM ‘hierarchy’ for answers are either met with silence or brushed aside accused of making waves.”

“Well I think it’s time the so-called governing body was hit with a seriously large wave, that should wash away the incompetence within the UIM.”

The race had seen multiple winners, with Norwegian driver Tobias Munthe Kaas crossing the line first, but ultimately disqualified for an illegal engine. After a long night, American driver Brent Dillard was awarded the win.

Then, the news came out that Stefan Hagin, who was also disqualified for an illegal engine, had won his appeal. He finished second in the race, but was initially awarded first place. But with the result of the appeal from Edgaras Riabko, Stefan was pushed back to second position overall, while he still kept his UIMF2 World Championship title. In the end, Edgaras received a yellow card instead of a disqualification, making it his first international victory abroad since his win from Kupiskis two years ago.

Pelle Larsson, the UIM Race Director, commented on the decision, stating that the five–month wait was the biggest disaster of all. But for Edgaras, it was a moment of triumph, with his hard work and dedication finally being rewarded.