VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia plans to hold a world-class race again. This time, it's the Formula One Powerboat World Championship aka F1 H2O, a prestigious speedboat racing event. The location to be the venue for the F1 H20 is Lake Toba, North Sumatra. The race will be held from 24 until 26 of February, 2023. The preparations for F1 H20 have been started by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) and the Toba regency government. Now, the process has entered the stage of structuring the Lake Toba area. Until now, there are still a few things which are considered to need improvement, including the availability of water, access to the race location and other facilities. Thereby, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has encouraged the Toba regency government to immediately acquire the required land and organize the Balige Port area at the end of this November.

Meanwhile, the Regional Secretary of Toba Regency, Augus Sitorus said that along with the team from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has collected data and arranged the location of the competition as well as accommodation facilities to support the event. He hopes that F1 H20 would be successful and be the first successful international sports event on Lake Toba. This can be possibly done in stages in 10 years and becomes an international event.

The F1 H20 race is a speed-boats race with one passenger to compete against each other on the water circuit. It is claimed to be competitive, challenging, full of risk and entertaining. In each match, there are 20 riders who participate. When they race on the circuit, they are required to go through various challenges like racing on a paved circuit, devouring sharp turns and speeding up maximum speed in a straight line.

In the 2022 F1 H20 season, six races will be held. There are four cities lined up as the host of the race, namely Macon (France), San Nazzaro (Italy), Olbia (Italy), and Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). For next year's season, the organizer of the F1 H20 has officially announced the appointment of Lake Toba as the location of the race. It will become the opening of the 2023 season.