With F1 H2O World Championship qualifying underway, Agnelo Dos Santos Queiroz, the governor of Brasilia, hopped in a powerboat cockpit today for two high-speed runs around the race circuit on Lake Paranao in Brazil’s capital city, the venue for tomorrow’s historic first Brazilian Grand Prix.

“It was a fantastic experience and I am looking forward to seeing today’s qualifying and tomorrow’s race,” said the governor, who was driven around the 2,200-meter circuit by two-time defending world champion Alex Carella of Qatar Team.

After Saturday’s qualifying action, American driver Shaun Torrente—Carella’s teammate—and Carella will start Sunday’s Grand Prix of Brazil from the second and third positions, respectively. In a thrilling Q3 shootout between five of the fastest drivers in the world, both Qatar Team racers narrowly missed out on claiming pole position, which fell to Finland’s former world champion Sami Selio with a best lap of 52.65 seconds. Sweden’s Jonas Andersson was fourth and Team Abu Dhabi’s Ahmed Al-Hameli made a superb return from serious illness to claim fifth place.

Below are additional photos of the Qatar Team in action on Friday courtesy of Torrente’s wife, Flavia.

Click photos to enlarge