Abu Dhabi: Team Sweden driver Jonas Andersson added some extra zing to the world title chase while winning Pole Position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — the penultimate round of the UIM F1H2O World Championship at the breakwater here on Thursday.

Andersson came up with a blistering time of 44.60 seconds on his second lap of the shoot-out at the fag end of qualifying late on Thursday. That time — the only sub-45 seconds of racing weekend so far — was enough for the Swede to finish at the top and ahead of fellow countryman and Emirates Racing Team driver Erik Stark, who finished with 45.08 seconds.

Defending two-time world champion Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC China Team will commence in third after he was lapped with a time of 45.27 seconds leaving Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente in fourth with a 45.61 seconds and the second Emirates Racing Team driver Ahmad Al Hameli in fifth with 45.69 seconds.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Alex Carella, who is one of the five drivers with a realistic chance of taking the world crown when the finale round of the UIM F1H2O World Championship is held next weekend in Sharjah, was left facing a daunting race against time after he went for a spectacular somersault during the second phase of qualifying.

Carella was well poised to be the top challenger for qualifying with the best time at the end of second phase. But his spin meant he will start Friday’s race in sixth place on the grid. However, Carella had the challenging task of working overtime with his team in getting his boat’s Mercury engine replaced overnight, if he is to still be a genuine contender for the world crown.

Joining the Italian was another challenger Sami Selio as the former two-time world champion was forced out of the first qualifying round with engine trouble.

CTIC China Team’s Chiappe is targeting a record third straight world title leading the drivers’ championship standings with 67 points, followed by Victory Team’s Torrente with 54 points, Sami Selio with 47 points, Carella with 42 points and Andersson in fifth with 37 points.

Earlier on Thursday, Carella had been in fine form with a quick best time of 45.43 seconds during practice, leaving Chiappe (45.99 seconds), Marit Stromoy (46.22 seconds), Stark (46.25 seconds) and Ziwei Xiong (46.29 seconds) to complete the top five positions.

On Friday, drivers will get one more free practice session from 10.15am to 11.15am followed by the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at 3.30pm.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the sixth and penultimate round of the UIM F1H2O World Championship before next weekend’s traditional finale — the Sharjah Grand Prix along the Buhairah Corniche in Sharjah from December 14-16.

UIM F1H2O World Championship standings at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that will be held at the breakwater on Friday: 1. Philippe Chiappe (France) — 67pts; 2. Shaun Torrente (US) — 54pts; 3. Sami Selio (Finland) — 47pts; 4. Alex Carella (Italy) — 42pts; 5. Jonas Andersson (Sweden) — 37pts.