The 2024 UIM E1 World Championship was the inaugural season of the E1 Series electric powerboat racing series. The season launched on 2 February in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Team Brady were crowned as the champions on October 29th.
Calendar The season was originally supposed to begin in 2023, with a goal to have about one race per month. A need for more teams caused delays to the start, with the first calendar being officially released on June 8, 2023. The provisional calendar had the first race set to take place during January 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the season finale in Rotterdam, Netherlands in September 2024. On December 20, 2023, a new calendar was released, which saw the series expand to three regions (Europe, the Middle East, and Asia), with the premiere getting pushed back to February. This version also featured a race in Geneva, Switzerland, which has since been removed from the calendar. On June 26, 2024, a race was announced for Lake Como, which replaced Rotterdam as the location of the fifth round. On October 29th, 2024, Team Brady was announced as the champions, ending the season early and forgoing the planned Hong Kong race. Round Dates Event Location 1 2–3 February 2024 E1 Jeddah GP Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2 11–12 May 2024 E1 Venice GP Venice, Italy 3 1–2 June 2024 E1 Puerto Banús GP Puerto Banús, Spain 4 26–27 July 2024 E1 Monaco GP Monaco 5 23–24 August 2024 E1 Lake Como GP Como, Italy The following events were on the original calendar, but did not appear in the final version. Dates Event Location 29–30 June 2024 E1 Geneva GP Geneva, Switzerland7–8 September 2024E1 Rotterdam GP Rotterdam, Netherlands9-10 November 2024E1 Hong Kong GP Hong Kong, China
Race format A race weekend consists of testing, free practice, and qualifying on the first day, while the semi-finals, play-off race, eliminator race, place race, and finals all take place on the second day.
The first race in Jeddah featured a modified format, as there were only 8 teams. For rounds 2–6, the format was changed to accommodate the extra entry of Westbrook Racing, which brought the total number of teams up to 9.
Qualifying is three sets of three racers, with each team getting two sessions in order to allow both pilots to set a time. After qualifying, the teams are split into three groups of 3, racing against each other in 6 semi-final races. The top team in each group automatically goes to the final, while the second-place finishers battle in a Playoff race for the last spot. The third-place finishers race in an Eliminator race, with the last-place finisher placing 9th for the event. The bottom two teams in the Playoff, and the top two teams in the Eliminator then compete in the Place Race, for positions 5 through 9. The top four teams compete in the Final, which consists of the combined results of Super Final 1 and Super Final 2.
Teams and drivers
UIM E1 Pilot Academy The UIM E1 Pilot Academy was created to train a new generation of racers to compete in the E1 Series. Female and male athletes with experience in motorsport, cycling, Esports, extreme sports and high-speed sports were invited to apply. A total of 34 racers took part in the training, with 18 being selected to compete in the inaugural season of the series.
Group 1
Jordan Rand Kriss Kyle Cris Lazarraga CS Santosh Emma Kimiläinen Ahmad Alfahim
Group 2
Laia Sanz Timmy Hansen Ieva Millere-Hagin Erik Stark Lisa Caussin Battaglia Phelim Kavanagh
Group 3
Catie Munnings Gianluca Carli Sara Price Alex Carella Alex Pratt Lewis Appiagyei
Group 4
Vicky Piria Dani Clos Oban Duncan Sebastian Ordonez Mashael AlObaidan Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq
Group 5
Alberto Comparato Lucas Ordóñez Sam Coleman Saud Ahmed Alex Carella
Group 6
Giacomo Sacchi Janice Oo Andrea Comella Rinad Hafez Clemet Tham Official Entries Team Drivers Rounds Team Blue Rising 05 Phelim Kavanagh 1–4 John Peeters5 Lisa Caussin Battaglia All Team Drogba 07 Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq All Oban Duncan All Team Rafa 09 Cris Lazarraga All Tom Chiappe All Team Brazil by Claure Group 10 Catie Munnings All Timmy Hansen 1–3, 5 Stefan Hagin4 Sergio Pérez E1 Team 11 Vicky Piria 1–3 Ieva Millere-Hagin4–5 Dani Clos All Team Brady 12 Emma Kimiläinen All Sam Coleman All Team Miami powered by Magnus 16 Anna Glennon All Erik Stark All Aoki Racing Team 77 Mashael AlObaidan All Saud Ahmed All Westbrook Racing88 Lucas Ordóñez2–5 Sara Price2–5
On April 27, 2021 it was announced that the Venice Racing Team, headed by entrepreneur Francesco Pannoli, would be the first team to join the inaugural season of the E1 Series, which was supposed to take place in 2023. The team was still included in competitor lists as late as August 2023, but did not appear on the final roster for the 2024 season. Ieva Millere-Hagin, Stefan Hagin, and John Peeters all competed as replacement pilots at certain rounds during the season.
Season summary
Race 1: Jeddah Team Miami led the qualifying on day 1, earning an extra point in the championship. In the semifinals, Team Brady and Team Rafa topped their respective groups, while Team Miami and Team Blue Rising also qualified for the final. Super Final 1 was led by Team Rafa, followed by Team Miami and Team Brady. In Super Final 2, spray blocked Team Rafa's Cris Lazarraga's view, causing her to cut a corner and take an additional long lap as a penalty. Sam Coleman took the lead of Super Final 2, and clinched the overall final for Team Brady.
Race 2: Venice Team Miami claimed their second consecutive pole position, while Team Blue Rising failed to set a qualifying time, and both Team Rafa and Aoki Racing Team had one of their session's lap times disqualified. Team Brazil, Team Drogba, and newcomers Westbrook Racing were the three seminfinal winners, earning an automatic spot in the final. Team Brady won the play-off race to clinch the fourth spot in the finals, while Team Checo lost the eliminator race and was therefore out of the place race. Team Brady had a dominant showing, winning Super Final 1 and 2 to earn their second victory in the series.
Race 3: Puerto Banús Choppy waters at the third event shook up the standings. Team Drogba claimed pole position, while two-time winners Team Brady were eliminated after a power outage in Semifinal 3. Team Blue Rising clinched fourth place overall, but had to withdraw from Super Final 2 after the nose of their craft detached while racing in Super Final 1. The same thing happened to Team Brazil in Super Final 2, while Westbrook Racing stalled mid-race but crossed the finish line in second and picked up an extra point for the fastest lap. Team Miami won their first final, and moved to first in the standings.
Race 4: Monaco Husband and wife duo Ieva Millere-Hagin and Stefan Hagin subbed in for Team Checo and Team Brazil, respectively. Team Brazil faced issues with their RaceBird during the weekend, ending in last place. Team Rafa claimed their first pole position and first semi-finals win, while Team Brady returned to the top step of the podium, despite taking second in both finals races. Team Aoki and Team Checo both received yellow cards for dangerous driving, the first of the season.
Race 5: Lake Como Team Westbrook took their first finals victory, as Lucas Ordóñez won Super Final 1. Team Brady's Emma Kimiläinen damaged her left foil when she hit a buoy in Super Final 2, which meant Sara Price's second-place finish clinched the victory for Westbrook.
Results and standings Round Event Qualifying Fastest Lap Semifinal 1&4Semifinal 2&5 Semifinal 3&6Super Final 1Super Final 2 Final Overall 1 E1 Jeddah GP Team Miami Team Rafa Team Brady Team Rafa Team Rafa Team Brady Team Brady 2 E1 Venice GP Team Miami Team Brady Team Brazil Westbrook Racing Team Drogba Team Brady Team Brady Team Brady 3 E1 Puerto Banús GP Team Drogba Westbrook Racing Team Brazil Westbrook Racing Team Miami Team Brazil Team Miami Team Miami 4 E1 Monaco GP Team Rafa Team Brady Team Rafa Westbrook Racing Team Drogba Team Drogba Team Rafa Team Brady 5 E1 Lake Como GP Team Brady Aoki Racing Team Team Brazil Team Rafa Team Brady Westbrook Racing Team Rafa Westbrook Racing
Scoring system Points are awarded to all 9 teams. An additional point is given to the fastest team in qualifying, and the team with the fastest lap. For the first race, because there were only 8 teams, the point system was slightly different. Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Q L Race 1 20 16 13 10 7 5 3 111 Races 2–6 20 16 13 10 7 5 3 2 111 Teams' Championship standings TeamJEDVENPUEMONLCO Points 1 Team Brady 15 12 93 16 51 71 2 Westbrook Racing 35 22 49 14 60 3 Team Miami powered by Magnus 21 51 16 65 73 53 4 Team Rafa 32 67 84 31 22 51 5 Team Brazil by Claure Group 83 24 37 97 37 44 6 Team Drogba 64 43 51 23 65 44 7 Team Blue Rising 46 89 49 54 89 31 8 Aoki Racing Team 77 78 68 72 46 25 9 Sergio Pérez E1 Team 58 96 75 88 98 14 TeamJEDVENPUEMONLCO Points Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Bold – PoleItalics – Fastest lapSuperscript – Qualifying position
Drivers' Championship standings DriverJEDVENPUEMONLCO Points 1 Emma Kimiläinen Sam Coleman 15 12 93 16 51 71 2 Sara Price Lucas Ordóñez 35 22 49 14 60 3 Anna Glennon Erik Stark 21 51 16 65 73 53 4 Cris Lazarraga Tom Chiappe 32 67 84 31 22 51 5 Catie Munnings 83 24 37 97 37 44 6 Yousef Al-Abdulrazzaq Oban Duncan 64 43 51 23 65 44 7 Timmy Hansen 83 24 37 37438 Lisa Caussin Battaglia 46 89 49 54 8931 9 Phelim Kavanagh 46 89 49 54 29 10 Mashael AlObaidan Saud Ahmedt 77 78 68 72 46 25 11 Dani Clos 58 96 75 88 98 1412 Vicky Piria 58 96 751113 Ieva Millere-Hagin 88 98314 John Peeters 892 15 Stefan Hagin 971 DriverJEDVENPUEMONLCO Points
Notes
References