The Florianoplis karting event included 2 races over the weekend, but Massa only mastered the elements in the second one. The 40-year old German clinched an easy win in Race 1, ahead of Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi, while Massa had to settle for a last-minute 3rd place overall.
If Race 1 on Saturday had a pretty predictable ending, the Sunday action worth every penny. Massa and Schumacher battled for the win until the very last lap of the race, but the Brazilian driver managed to hold the leading spot and win his first event after the Hungaroring race this season.
"This was a fantastic event, maybe the most important kart event in the world. I demonstrated to be competitive like before the accident and that makes me happy. I think that if there were still any doubts, today I gave the answer. In the end I had a fierce fight with Michael, who was slightly faster, but I made it," said Massa.
The karting event organized by Massa this weekend has benefited from the presence of several race drivers from all over the world – most of them Brazilian – making the racing field a truly competitive one. Rubens Barrichello, Enrique Bernoldi, Luciano Burti, Christian Fittipaldi, Tony Kanaan, Tarso Marques, Raphael Matos, Victor Meira, Mario Moraes, Nelson Piquet and Antonio Pizzonia all attended the event, while several other drivers failed to make it in the last minute.
It was the case of Massa's new teammate at Ferrari Fernando Alonso, who declined the invitation despite the fact that the Brazilian driver had asked him to participate plenty of times before. Also, Giancarlo Fisichella was unable to attend the event due to contractual commitments.
As for Schumacher, this was his 2nd karting event in the last week, as he also participated in the Las Vegas-based SKUSA Supernationals.
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