Intro:

Mad Croc F1 Team driver Sami Selio secured pole position for the UIM F1H20 World Championship's 14th Grand Prix of Sharjah in final qualifying on Thursday.

Script:

The sound of engines echoed through Sharjah as the final round of the 2012 Powerboat World Championship got underway in the UAE on Friday.

With the title already decided, the battle for the runners-up spot was the order of the day.

Alex Carella of the Qatar Team sealed his second world title at the previous round in Abu Dhabi and he seemed relaxed as he qualified sixth.

Local favourite Thani Al Qamzi of Team Abu Dhabi has won here twice before and is hoping to become the first three-time winner.

Qamzi will begin the race in fourth.

America's Jay Price guided his Skydive Dubai boat to the third best time of the day.

Jonas Andersson continued his impressive learning curve in 2012 as he qualified second-fastest with a time of 0:46.89.

Sami Selio will start in pole position.

The Finn earned his second pole of the season and the 19th of his career with a lap of 0:46.71 around the 1.38-mile circuit to better Andersson by nearly a fifth of a second.