Ahmed Al Hameli will start Sunday's UIM F1 H20 Grand Prix of China on pole position after a superb display in Saturday's qualifying session on the Liu River in Liuzhou.
The Team Abu Dhabi driver posted a fast lap of 47.15 seconds in rainy and overcast conditions to beat his nearest rival by 0.14secs seconds and catapult himself into contention for the Pole Position Championship.
The Emirati, who had set the pace early on in the session with a time of 47.81 before finding another half-a-second on his final run to cement top spot, now holds third position in that competition and trails the leader Alex Carella of the Qatar Team by 10 points.
Al Hameli's teammate, Thani Al Qamzi, also enjoyed a successful qualifying session and claimed fourth position on the grid behind Al Hameli, Carella and the Frenchman, Phillipe Chiappe.
Al Qamzi holds fifth place in the Pole Position points standings and will be hoping to close the gap to Jay Price and Carella in the main world title standings during Sunday's race.
Al Qamzi is currently third in the standings after four rounds of the championship, 22 points adrift of Price, who leads the way in his Qatar Team boat.
Price, who has a 10-point advantage over Carella, won the opening two rounds of the series.
Al Hameli is a distant seventh in the standings, having failed to score a point in the first three rounds, but he picked up 20 points with his victory at the previous round at Kiev, in July, and he has put himself in an ideal position Sunday to repeat that feat and throw himself into championship contention.
UAE TV: UIM F1 Grand Prix of China, 11am, OSN Sports 4
