Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Member of Azerbaijan's team, Swedish driver Jonas Andersson ranked second among 23 riders at the first stage of 2013 UIM Formula 2 World Powerboat Championships held in Stockholm on June 15-16.

The championship will continue with a thrilling and exciting show, which will be held under the "Fire on the Water" motto in Baku Bay on July 6-7. 23 teams from 13 countries will take part in the competition and organizational work will involve 350 volunteers.

Andersson was fifth with a score of 00:47:87 at the qualification stage.

During the race itself, he improved his scores, ranking second after his fellow countryman Eric Stark from GeTel Racing. Andersson covered the distance with a result of 00:31:15:50, scooping 15 points, while the champion got 20 points.

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.

The second stage of UIM Formula 2 World Powerboat Championships, taking place on the shores of the Caspian Sea, is a 1,810 meter course which will certainly be challenging and organizers predict that the seaside boulevard will be packed with spectators, all eager to watch the inaugural Azerbaijan powerboat race.

The events are expected to increase the tourist inflow to Azerbaijan.

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.

According to the Federation President Ibrahim Ibrahimov, currently the Azerbaijani team mostly consists of foreign athletes, but this situation will change soon, as it's planned to create a center to prepare athletes for motorboat racing in Baku.