No easy route to the podium
Team AlUla championed by LeBron James got off to a great start to the weekend in Dubrovnik, winning the Qualifying Race. Rusty Wyatt had a great start to take the lead at the first corner and took a commanding win, beating the Team Rafa race bird by over two seconds to claim the team’s very first pole position in the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF.
“Absolutely incredible!” Wyatt said after securing pole position. “We came up with that strategy with our great race engineer Barney, and just executed it perfectly. It felt so good to get to that first turn first and that’s just the beginning for Team AlUla.
“We’re going to make an impact around here.”
“We came up with that strategy with our great race engineer Barney, and just executed it perfectly. It felt so good to get to that first turn first and that’s just the beginning for Team AlUla."
Rusty WyattPilot for Team AlUla
But in the opening group race, Team AlUla championed by LeBron James’s weekend quickly took a downward turn after Catie Munnings had a tough race, crossing the line in last. And with her team-mate Wyatt finishing third in his group race, it meant Team AlUla would need to take part in the Race Off.
However, in the Race Off LeBron James’ team came alive once again. While Munnings didn’t have the pace to fight the Rafa race bird for victory in her race, she was able to cross the line third, securing a place in the Finals for Team AlUla championed by LeBron James for the very first time.
In Final 1, Wyatt quickly dropped behind the leaders, unable to match the Team Brady race bird of Emma Kimilainen or the Team Rafa race bird of Tom Chiapas. But he did have the edge on Team Blue Rising’s Sara Misir, ending up finishing the race in fourth place.
And after his race, Wyatt was confident that team-mate Munnings could go one position better in the second final.
“It was a good final race to pick up one position, we’ve only got to pick up one more to get on the podium,” said Wyatt. “So I really hope we can do that and I think Catie’s got it. She’s pumped up. She’s definitely got the talent in the boat and let’s hope she can execute it.”
And that’s exactly what Munnings did. She had a great start to move up to second on the opening lap of Final 2, but in the middle of the race, she dropped behind Team Brady’s Sam Coleman.
In the end, Munnings crossed the finish line fourth on the water, but with Team Blue Rising’s John Peetrs - who finished third - being served a long lap penalty, it promoted Munnings and Team AlUla to third, giving them a first UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF podium.
“So I really hope we can do that and I think Catie’s got it. She’s pumped up. She’s definitely got the talent in the boat and let’s hope she can execute it.”
Rusty WyattPilot for Team AlUla
Bouncing back after a difficult start to the season
The first two events of Team AlUla championed by LeBron James’s 2025 season weren’t the smoothest sailing, having finished eighth in Jeddah and seventh in Doha. It’s been a steep learning curve for the team who’s making their debut in the IM E1 World Championship presented by PIF in 2025, but the sharp turnaround in form in Dubrovnik has brought them firmly back into play in the midfield of the championship.
They are now sixth in the standings on 45 points, but crucially, they head to Lago Maggiore just two points shy of Westbrook Racing in fifth and less than 10 points behind Team Blue Rising, who are currently occupying fourth position with 52 points.
The question now is whether Team AlUla championed by LeBron James can keep this form going for the remainder of the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF season.