The fifth round of the UIM E1 World Championship at the Luanda Yacht Club saw several twists and turns. In particular, Westbrook Racing by Visit Angola – Will Smith’s team and, until then, the leaders in the overall standings – had a difficult weekend in front of their home crowd. A technical problem in the first group race forced the team to change boats. Even with a RaceBird on loan from Team AlUla, they were ultimately unable to qualify for the finals.
Team Westbrook miss out on the final
In the decisive group race, Westbrook Racing finished less than half a second behind Catie Munnings of the Sierra Racing Club. The team dropped back to ninth place. This significantly increased the gap to Team Brady.
Other title contenders also dropped points in Angola. Team AlUla could only manage seventh place. Team Drogba Global Africa, which had celebrated its first Grand Prix victory at the previous race in Monaco, was recorded as finishing eighth. Team Miami came last.
Luanda was a new venue for the E1 Series. The championship was held in Angola for the first time, and thus in southern Africa for the first time. Even before the race weekend, BOOTE had the new venue on the Atlantic coast and outlined the current situation in the title race.
Tactics and penalties in the E1 Series final in Luanda
In the first final race, Mashael Alobaidan initially took the lead for Team Blue Rising, but was given a long-lap penalty for changing lanes on the approach to the first corner. This allowed Sara Misir Vaz to move Aoki Racing into the lead. Team Brady took their long lap early on, had a clear run afterwards and eventually won with Sam Coleman at the wheel. This secured Emma Kimiläinen pole position for the second and decisive race.
Immediately after the start, Aoki Racing and Team Blue Rising collided. Dani Clos and John Peeters each missed a mark and were handed long-lap penalties. This ruled both boats out of the fight for overall victory.
Emma Kimiläinen led for much of the race, but did not have to serve her mandatory long lap until the closing stages. This allowed Oban Duncan, driving the Team Monaco RaceBird, to close the gap once more in the final sector of the circuit. However, the Finnish driver held on to her lead right to the finish. Duncan was named Driver of the Day for her comeback drive.
Title decider in Miami
Following the Luanda Grand Prix, Team Brady leads the championship with 157 points. Westbrook Racing follows with 117 points, whilst Aoki Racing is in third place with 86 points. The title will be decided at the series’ first double-header in Miami on 13 and 14 November.
The E1 Series uses identical, fully electric RaceBirds. BOOTE explains how the foilers work, what role the wings and energy management play, and why the teams always field one female and one male pilot. here. The series had held the previously announced Luanda Run in the spring presented alongside Will Smith.
Leonie Meyer
Editor News & Panorama
