17/12/2006
NEWS STORY
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After setting the pole in Suzuka, Interlagos and at the Granja Viana 500 Mile, Felipe Massa will again lead the pack for the 4th straight time at the International Challenge of the Go-Kart Champs. The Ferrari driver was the quickest of the Top Qualifying session on Saturday in Florianópolis, 700 km from São Paulo, and will share the first row with Antonio Pizzonia.
Once again with the green and yellow overall he displayed at Interlagos, Massa was the last to go on to the track. "That was a perfect lap. I felt the car very good in the previous sessions, but all times are very similar. I'm happy to be on pole again and now I expect to land the victory that escaped from me in Granja Viana. But I know that we still have a hard work ahead. There is a high level of driving out there and the challenge is going to be a tough one", said Massa.
Qualifying session was hit by some bizarre situations. Old and close friends, Rubens Barrichello and Indy Racing League fellow countryman Tony Kannan touched and the Honda F1 driver went to the barriers. "Tony was pushing me, which is a very common in this kind of race, and suddenly I was spinning. That was all. The car got very damaged and prevented me from going on. But tomorrow is another day", said Barrichello, who starts from 22nd on the starting grid.
Vitantonio Liuzzi, however, was about to steal the show. On Friday he was testing for Red Bull at Jerez; next day, he arrived at the circuit in the middle of the afternoon, having missed all the free practices. Even tough he was given only 10 minutes to get to grips with the equipment and the track, the Italian put himself into the Top 10 and will start 9th in the opening race.
"Everything went fine, despite a minor problem with the brakes. I did a very good time only in my second outing, so I can only be pleased with the overall results", he commented. Liuzzi sent a message to the entire field. "Tomorrow I'm sure I will feel better and much more used to the kart."
First race, which is 20-minutes in length, will start at 10:30 (local time) and can be watched on Eurosport. The second race, 10 minutes longer, begins at 15:00. The winner will be the driver with more points aggregated. A live timing service will be available at www.cronomap.com.br
The starting order is as follows:
1) Felipe Massa, 41.619, média de 89.78 km/h
2) Antonio Pizzonia, 41.793
3) Nelson Piquet Jr., 41.801
4) Lucas Di Grassi, 41.985
5) Luciano Burti, 42.008
6) Enrique Bernoldi, 42.274
7) Felipe Giaffone, 42.282
8) Marcos Gomes, 42.322
9) Vitantonio Liuzzi, 42.345
10) Vitor Meira, 42.391
11) Ricardo Zonta, 41.831
12) João Paulo Oliveira, 41.846
13) Tony Kanaan, 41.857
14) Alexandre Barros, 42.002
15) Xandynho Negrão, 42.048
16) Popó Bueno, 42.108
17) Robert Doornbos, 42.157
18) Hoover Orsi, 42.205
19) Giuliano Losacco, 42.224
20) Jaime Câmara, 42.351
21) Cacá Bueno, 42.397
22) Rubens Barrichello, 42.407
23) Tarso Marques, 42.428
24) Tiago Monteiro, 42.476
25) Jean Alesi, 43.052