| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Estonian |
| Born | 2001 (age 23–24) |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Powerboat racing |
| Club | Sharjah Team (2025–present) Team Bình Định-Viet Nam (2024) Stefan Arand Racing (2023) |
Stefan Arand (born 2001) is an Estonian powerboat racer from Tallinn. He is a seven-time world champion and nine-time European champion across multiple powerboat racing categories. [1] [2] He became the first Estonian driver to compete in the F1H2O World Championship when he made his debut in 2024. [3] He was three-time UIM Junior Driver of the Year from 2016 to 2018. [2]
Arand began powerboat racing in 2012. [4] He won back-to-back GT15 World and European Championships in 2014 and 2015. [1] [2] He won the GT15 World Championship again in 2016 and 2017, and the GT15 European Championship in 2017 and 2018. [4] In the GT30 class, he won world championships in 2017 and 2018, and the European Championship in 2019. [2] [4]
His consistency across these championships earned him the UIM Junior Driver of the Year award three consecutive times in 2016, 2017 and 2018. [2] [1] In 2019, he won the Offshore 3J World Championship, demonstrating his versatility beyond circuit racing. [2] [1] He also secured a bronze medal in the S3 Endurance World Championship. [4]
Arand won the F4 European Championship in 2021. [2] In 2022, he won both the F4 World Championship and European Championship in his final season in the class. [5] [6] He finished ahead of Finland's Roope Virtanen and Sweden's Mathilda Wiberg in the four-round championship, accumulating 65 points. [6]
In 2023, Arand made his debut in the UIM F2 World Championship racing under the Stefan Arand Racing banner with a DAC hull. [2] [7] He finished third overall behind Rashed Al-Qemzi and Edgaras Riabko, earning the bronze medal in his debut season. [1] [7] He was voted F2 Rookie of the Year. [2] His top F2 result was winning the 2023 Baltic Cup. [4]
In the 2025 F2 season, Arand competed over four rounds and finished seventh overall. [1] His season highlight came at the final round in Vila Veha, where he secured fourth place after maintaining his position through multiple yellow flags. [1]
In 2024, Arand made history as the first official driver to represent Estonia at the top level of powerboat racing when he joined the F1H2O World Championship. [3] He raced for Team Bình Định-Viet Nam alongside defending World Champion Jonas Andersson. [7] In December 2023, he was awarded the 2023 Driver of the Year at the Estonian Powerboating Union Awards' Ceremony. [7]
His debut at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia on Lake Toba resulted in fourth place in both the sprint race and Grand Prix. [1] [2] At the inaugural Grand Prix of Vietnam in Quy Nhơn, he finished second in a sprint race behind his team-mate but failed to finish the Grand Prix. [8] He finished fifth in the weather-shortened Grand Prix of Shanghai but did not start at Zhengzhou and was absent from the Sharjah finale. [2] [8] He finished 10th in the Drivers' Championship with 34.5 points, contributing to Team Vietnam winning the Teams' Championship. [2]
For the 2025 season, Arand joined the Sharjah Team, partnering with Canadian Rusty Wyatt under team manager Scott Gillman. [1] [8] Gillman, a four-time F1H2O World Champion with a 90% podium rate (55 podiums from 92 starts), provides mentorship for developing championship-calibre drivers. [1] Arand currently sits fourth in the 2025 F1H2O championship standings. [1]
| Year | Championship | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | UIM F4 World Championship | Champion |
| 2022 | UIM F4 European Championship | Champion |
| 2021 | UIM F4 European Championship | Champion |
| 2019 | Offshore 3J World Championship | Champion |
| 2019 | UIM GT30 European Championship | Champion |
| 2018 | UIM GT30 World Championship | Champion |
| 2018 | UIM GT15 European Championship | Champion |
| 2017 | UIM GT30 World Championship | Champion |
| 2017 | UIM GT15 World Championship | Champion |
| 2017 | UIM GT15 European Championship | Champion |
| 2016 | UIM GT15 World Championship | Champion |
| 2015 | UIM GT15 World Championship | Champion |
| 2015 | UIM GT15 European Championship | Champion |
| 2014 | UIM GT15 World Championship | Champion |
| 2014 | UIM GT15 European Championship | Champion |
| 2023 | UIM F2 World Championship | Bronze |
| 2024 | UIM F1H2O World Championship | 10th |
| 2025 | UIM F2 World Championship | 7th |