Tom Brady's team have claimed their first win of the season at the inaugural E1 Luanda GP, extending their lead at the top of the 2026 UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF as the campaign heads towards its Miami finale.
The Group Stages in Angola delivered plenty of drama. Second-placed Westbrook Racing by Visit Angola, Will Smith's team, suffered a technical problem in their first race and were forced to borrow a boat from Team AlUla. Despite that, they missed out on qualifying for the Finals altogether.
Westbrook were pipped in the last few metres of their Group Stage race by Catie Munnings, racing for Sierra Racing Club, losing out by just under half a second. That result left them down in ninth and cost them ground in the title race.
There was little relief elsewhere for the chasing pack. Third-placed AlUla could only finish seventh, while Team Drogba Global Africa, first-time winners at the previous round in Monaco, came home eighth. Team Miami finished last for the first time this season.
Final 1 brought more twists. Mashael Alobaidan led off the start but picked up a long lap penalty for changing lane on the run to the first turn, promoting Sara Misir Vaz for Aoki Racing into the lead. The Brady boat was flying, though, and by taking their long lap early, the Championship leaders found clean water. Sam Coleman brought the boat home for the win, setting up pole position for Brady pilot Emma Kimiläinen in Final 2.
Final 2 had its own share of chaos. Aoki and Team Blue Rising tripped over each other early on, with both Dani Clos and John Peeters missing a course mark and picking up long lap penalties that knocked them out of contention.
Kimiläinen appeared to have Final 2 under control for Brady, but Team Monaco began closing fast in the closing stages. With Brady still needing to complete their long lap into the final corner, Oban Duncan in the Team Monaco E1 RaceBird pounced, applying pressure right to the line. Kimiläinen held on to win by just 1.4 seconds, securing Team Brady's first victory of the season despite finishing on the podium in every race so far. Duncan's performance earned her the PIF Pilot of the Day award.
Team Brady now leave Angola with a 40-point advantage over Westbrook heading into the season-ending double-header in Miami, as they chase a third consecutive UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF title.
Jamie Copas, Chief Executive Officer of E1, said: "Congratulations to Emma Kimiläinen, Sam Coleman and everyone at Team Brady for taking their first win of the season in E1's first visit to Angola. Bringing the Championship to Luanda and Southern Africa for the first time marks an important milestone for E1. The welcome we have received, the atmosphere around the event and the racing we have seen on the water demonstrate why Angola is such an exciting addition to our global calendar. The Championship fight now heads to Miami for the finale and our first-ever Championship double-header."
