Hencz had gotten the weekend off to the best possible start by winning the opening heat from his fellow Slovakian racer, Marian Jung, who then ran into mechanical issues in the second heat after he broke a cylinder due to a water-cooling issue. It would prove to be a very frustrating weekend for him after winning the previous round in Poland.

Victory in the second heat had gone to Hencz.

We knew it was working good but even I was amazed we could win two heats.

Marcin Zielinski had capitalised on Jung’s misfortune and would collect second place; they had worked over night to resolve the issue that had led to him running on just three cylinders in the previous heat.

I think we should all be happy every single cylinder was working perfectly.

The racer certainly making his way up the leader board was Aabrams who’s weekend had certainly started rather slowly. They had struggled to get the settings right with the injectors for the first heat so over Friday night they set about changing the carburettors, whilst at the same time replacing piston rings and to add to their list, they even opted to change the gearbox.

We just couldn’t work it out, so it meant for us it was going to be a long, long night.

For the final heat Hencz knew all he had to do was finish inside the top five to take victory, so he opted for a safe race which turned into a good plan. In the end he crossed the line in third place securing a successful weekend.

It was a long drive here to Sweden, but our return trip home will be an enjoyable one that is for sure. Last year I missed the whole season, so this year is going to be my ‘comeback from hell to hero.’

The third and final heat was won by Aabrams who admitted that they had finally figured out what the issue was.

It was all good but just too late. My mission was really not to win here but to come away still leading the championship, so I consider that mission accomplished.

Polish driver Zielinski who had challenged Aabrams all the way throughout the second heat was looking to put in an identical performance for the third, but his start was far from perfect, and he immediately found himself almost at the back of the pack. He would eventually catch up with Hencz but by then he had run out of laps to mount a significant challenge and settled for fourth across the line.

This weekend has been good as we have collected more championship points and now the whole team is motivated for Dunaújváros and the European Championship.

Photos by Chris Davies.

In the F500 class the defending World Champion Erko Aabrams put together the perfect lap in qualifying, posting the fastest time ahead of Giuseppe Rossi and Marcin Zieliński. That was later followed by a dramatic first heat as approaching the far turn buoy Rossi closed the door on Marian Jung who was unable to avoid him damaging both boats in the process. To add to the confusion the 2020 F250 World Champion Andrea Ongari had taken out two turn buoys leaving the race officials with little choice but to cancel the opening heat which was a shame for David Loukotka (98), as the local hero was in a sensational third place.

In the evening, Jung sprinted back home to Slovakia to collect a new boat so that he could race on Sunday. Unfortunately, Rossi was unable to do that, so the Italian devote himself to his clients who were running his engines.

Aabrams, who had been leading the first heat before it was cancelled showed in the second heat that he was serious about defending the title when he beat Havas, who was in a brand new ASV hull across the finish line by twenty seconds.

Bizarrely Ongari was at it again when he took out a further two turn buoy and was once again disqualified from the heat.

So it now came down to the final heat and with Aabrams on pole position it would be something of an upset if the Estonian was to miss the top step of the podium but amazingly that was what happened.

When PRW spoke to Aabrams he explained what happened

As we were getting ready for the most important heat my knee accidently pushed my trim button just at the very moment my mechanic went to start my engine. With the engine now in the wrong position I couldn’t get any acceleration for the first few metres.

So, by the time he had reached the first turn buoy he was back in ninth place and although he tried to make up lost ground, he ended up crossing the line in fourth place. Ahead of him was the former OSY400 competitor Cezary Strumnik but so was Havas and two second places meant the Hungarian would collect six hundred points, thirty-one more that the Estonian and more crucially the maximum points in the battle for the world title.

When the delighted Havas spoke to PRW he spoke about the engine problems that he had on Saturday.

The team worked great and with the help of the VRP engine manufacturer Carlo Verona, the problems were resolved by Sunday. Sometimes consistent results bring victory and now we are waiting for the next competition.

Third place on the podium remarkably went to Ongari after he collect maximum points in the third heat without touching any buoys.

Back in the cockpit was the double World Champion Robert Hencz and when PRW caught up with him he explained how his weekend went

This weekend was for us incredibly special with many emotions but also it was unlucky for me. On Saturday in the first heat after the crash between Jung and Rossi and then the red flag after the mistake made by Ongari I was in fifth place, but we all ended that one on zero points. Then on Sunday in the second heat during the two-minute warning my pipes wire was broken so I never left the jetty. In the final I started last and finished in fifth place. It was great being back in boat but after the race I have many pains but its ok. For the next race, I will have a brand-new engine and we are coming back stronger.

The A.S.D. Motonautica Boretto Po will be keeping a close watch on the River Po’s water level before the next round of the Hydro GP is due to take place at the start of June.

Images supplied by Milan Spurný at Studio diSTy