Aoki Racing Team has secured a stunning win for the second time this season as the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF debuted the E1 Dubrovnik GP, presented by Adriatic Luxury Hotels.
Aoki Racing Team pilot Dani Clos, a former Formula 1 test driver, crossed the finish line first to secure the win with strong support from teammate Mashael Alobaidan. New to the team for 2025, Clos took the chequered flag in a close finish with Team Brady in second and Team AlUla Championed by LeBron James in third which marked the NBA icon’s first-ever podium.
Aoki Racing Team, backed by international superstar DJ Steve Aoki, surged to victory in the Adriatic in front of thousands of fans. It was E1’s third race of the season, taking place for the first time in Croatia, adding another new destination to the Championship calendar.
The victory sees Aoki Racing Team overtake Rafael Nadal’s Team Rafa in the Championship standings as the tennis legend’s outfit could only manage a fourth place finish in the final. The two stand-out teams of the season so far are developing a fascinating rivalry as they bid to be crowned Champions of the Water at the season’s finale in Miami in November.
PIF Pilot of the Race was awarded to Team Brady’s Welsh pilot Sam Coleman for his cool, calm and consistent performance throughout the day, bringing the team back to the podium once again.
“It’s wonderful to bring the Championship to Croatia for round three of the 2025 E1 season with the Adriatic waters and historic city of Dubrovnik as a perfect backdrop to the on-water racing. I want to thank all the teams and people who have made this historic E1 race a reality including our partners, teams and supporters” said Alejandro Agag, Founder and Chairman of Formula E, Extreme H and E1.
“Friends and fans around the world were thrilled by this exciting win from Aoki Racing Team. This is the second win this season for the team and they’ve now widened the gap between them and their nearest rival, tennis legend Rafael Nadal’s Team Rafa. E1 fans today enjoyed the tense drama of the racing. The pilots navigated the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic, pushing the E1 RaceBirds to their limit – it was wonderful to watch” said Rodi Basso, Founder and CEO of E1.
Aoki Racing overcame a long lap penalty to take a remarkable victory in the third round of the 2025 UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, in Dubrovnik.
American DJ and producer Steve Aoki’s pairing of Dani Clos and Mashael Alobaidan had to overcome penalties in both final races during the first E1 event on the beautiful Croatian coast to take an astonishing second win of 2025.
Aoki Racing’s path to victory
Alobaidan started the winning for Aoki Racing in the second group stage race, where she triumphed in a closely-fought contest with Westbrook Racing’s Sara Price, with their race birds even making contact at one stage.
That race should have been won by Rafa Nadal’s Team Rafa pilot, Cristina Lazarraga, but a mistake meant Lazarraga took her long lap too late and was penalised, dropping her from first to last after the chequered flag.
Clos then stormed from last to first in the second group stage race to continue the team’s strong start, instantly booking their place in the final alongside Blue Rising – Indian professional cricketer Virat Kohli’s team.
Next up for Aoki Racing was Final 1, where Alobaidan was tasked with securing the best grid position possible for the points-paying Final 2.
Alobaidan claimed third in that race, recovering well from a long lap penalty for jumping the race start. Finnish racer Emma Kimiläinen took victory in that race to hand pole position to Tom Brady’s team, Team Brady.
A remarkable comeback
Remarkably Aoki Racing picked up another start line infringement in the final race, with Clos picking up a long lap penalty.
He did make the best start of the five birds in the final, though, as he swept into the lead before the first proper corner.
Clos raced into a sizeable lead over Catie Munnings – pilot for Team AlUla championed by LeBron James – and so had a buffer of over 10 seconds when his long lap penalty was issued.
This allowed Clos to take his extra long lap and still emerge in the lead of the race, this time ahead of Team Brady’s Sam Coleman, who lost valuable time at the start of the race.
An astonished Clos felt a rollercoaster of emotions through the final, having initially been baffled by his penalty.
“I was so mad, I was so angry because from inside, I was well on the spot, I even had a margin, so when they told me that I had a penalty, I couldn’t believe it,” Clos said.
“I thought that Brady already did a long lap, but he still had to do it, at the end, emotions were calm, then super mad and angry, then super focused again.
“It was good. It’s been amazing.”
World champion powerboat sailor Coleman said he “didn’t know if it was fun or painful because we had the speed but was just stuck”, but he was pleased to recover to second for some valuable points in the championship.
Points ramifications
Aoki Racing’s victory moves them into the lead of the championship ahead of Team Rafa who took fourth in the final.
Team AlUla championed by LeBron James secured their first podium of 2025 in third place, with Blue Rising rounding out the final’s top five teams.
Footballing legend Didier Drogba’s Team Drogba triumphed in the place race that had to be red flagged when Team Miami powered by Magnus’s Erik Stark clipped the smart marker at the first corner and damaged his race bird.
They were followed by the Westbrook Racing machine owned by Hollywood legend Will Smith, Team Brazil and Team Miami powered by Magnus, who couldn’t restart the race due to the damage from the marker.
Final race
- Aoki Racing (Mashael Alobaidan and Dani Clos)
- Team Brady (Emma Kimiläinen and Sam Coleman)
- Team AlUla Championed by LeBron James (Catie Munnings/Rusty Wyatt)
- Team Rafa (Cristina Lazarraga and Tom Chiappe)
- Blue Rising (Sara Misir and John Peeters)
Place race
- Team Drogba (Oban Duncan/Micah Wilkinson)
- Westbrook Racing (Sara Price/Lucas Ordonez)
- Team Brazil by Claure Group (Marit Stromoy/Timmy Hansen)
- Team Miami powered by Magnus (Anna Glennon/Erik Stark)
Championship standings
- Aoki Racing 109 points
- Team Rafa 93 points
- Team Brady 63 points
- Blue Rising 52 points
- Westbrook Racing 47 points
- Alula Racing 45 points
- Team Drogba 41 points
- Team Miami 25 points
- Team Brazil 23 points
E1 now heads to the mid-point of the season with the Championship heading to Italy for the E1 Lake Maggiore GP on June 27 to 28.
