Shanghai:Alec Weckstr¶m and Shaun Torrente of the Victory Team secured the front row for Monday's main race in the UIM F1H2O World Championship at the Shanghai Grand Prix. Weckstrm, from Finland, claimed pole position during Sunday's official qualifying session, with his American teammate Torrente finishing second. The duo also emerged victorious in the two sprint races, marking a successful day for the UAE-based team.

According to Emirates News Agency, Weckstrm set the fastest qualifying time in Victory 3 with 43.986 seconds, narrowly ahead of Torrente's 44.193 seconds in Victory 1. This achievement marks Weckstrm's first career pole position, placing him in a strong position alongside Torrente for the main race.

In other qualifying results, Sharjah Team's Stefan Arand secured third place with a time of 44.321 seconds, followed by Sami Seli from Italy's Comparato Team at 44.470 seconds. Grant Trask from Sharjah Team claimed the fifth spot with 44.886 seconds.

During the sprint races, Weckstrm won the first, adding 10 points to his season total, now standing at 30, and moving up to sixth in the overall drivers' standings. He finished ahead of Grant Trask and Sami Seli, who took second and third, respectively. Torrente won the second sprint race, extending his lead in the Drivers' World Championship standings with a total of 50 points. He finished ahead of Stefan Arand, with Stefan Hagin of China Team in third.

Victory Team's performance also elevated them to the top of the provisional Teams' World Championship standings with 80 points, surpassing Sharjah Team with 69 points and Team Abu Dhabi with 68 points.

Alec Weckstrm expressed his satisfaction, highlighting the team's excellent setup and performance after training in Dubai, while Shaun Torrente emphasized the importance of their results in the championship fight and the strategic advantage for the upcoming main race. Both drivers stressed the significance of maintaining focus and building on their current success in the championship.