KIEV, Ukraine - 20th of July, 2012 - Finland's Sami Selio got the perfect window on worsting water conditions and earned his first pole position in over a year and will lead the field of 17 drivers from 12 different countries for tomorrow's 2nd Annual Grand Prix of Ukraine on the Kiev Sea's tricky six-turn 2.15 kilometer race circuit.
The lead driver for the Mad Croc Team who is a two-time World Champion and who currently sits in fourth place in the championship with 21 points ran a 51.88 second lap and finish in the first spot by .54 of second.
"We made a quick change with our propeller and it really paid off as the combination of boat set-up and engine was perfect for the conditions we faced with the rouge waves and swirling winds," said the Helsinki driver.
"Tomorrow will be another day, but it feels great to be number one today since it's the first time since Doha of over a year ago we started at the head of the field and I need this to chase all important championship points for me to have a shot at my third title."
The three qualifying sessions were fiercely faught and points leader Ahmed Al Hameli of Team Abu Dhabi was running for pole when he crashed spectacularly into the final turn on the circuit on the north end of the race course that was most exposed to the strong north winds. Going into the corner the boat launched out of the water at over 160 kph (100 mph) and barrel rolled to a stop ending his hopes of a second pole for the year and forcing him to start back in the field tomorrow.
Florida's Shaun Torrente of the Qatar Team came out on the circuit following the 20 minute clean-up of Al Hameli's accident and ran a 52.42 second lap earning second place in tough conditions while his teammate Alex Carella of Italy two tenths back with a 52.64 starting tomorrow in third position for the defending World Champion.
Rookie driver Youssef Al Rubayan of the F1 Atlantic Team did his best qualifying effort in his short career starting fourth with a 53.83 second lap in his new DAC boat.
In fifth is French driver Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC China Team in his Moore boat running a 54.84 second lap for the driver who's tied for second in the World Championship.
Francesco Cantando who's in his 16th season of racing F1 H2O and has 12 victories to his credit was sixth with a time of a 55.00 lap in his Singha F1 Racing Team Italian built boat.
Team Abu Dhabi driver Thani Al Qamzi was seventh with a 55.58 second time with Russian driver Stanislav Kurtsenovskiy next to him on the grid starting eighth with a 55.65 second effort.
Rounding out the top ten is French driver Philippe Tourre in a new BABA boat doing his best qualifying of the year in ninth with a 57.27 with Al Hameli currently classified in the tenth position.
So drivers from four different continents will be on hand for tomorrow's third Grand Prix of the season at the 2nd Annual Grand Prix of Ukraine in the lovely Kiev Region of the picturesque country near the Black Sea. The race is scheduled for 18:00 local, 15:00 GMT and 11:00 EDT in North American on the East Coast. The coverage of the worldwide television program can be followed live by going to the official website at www.f1h2o.com.
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