Florianopolis, 16th December 2006

Felipe Massa did it again. After setting the pole in Suzuka, Interlagos and at the Granja Viana 500 Mile, the Ferrari ace will again lead the pack for the 4th straight time at the International Challenge of the Go-Kart Champs. Massa was the quickest of the Top Qualifying session this Saturday in Florianópolis, 700 km off 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 get into 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", Massa said.

Qualifying session was hit by some bizarre situations. Old and close friends, Rubens Barrichello and Indy Racing League fellow countryman Tony Kanna touched and the first 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", pointed out the Honda driver, only the 22nd on the starting grid.


Vitantonio Liuzzi, however, was about to steal the show. Yesterday he was testing for Toro Rosso in Jerez; today, he arrived at the circuit in the middle of the afternoon, missing all the free practices. Even tough he was given only 10 minutes to get to grips with the equipment and the track, the Italian guy put himself into the Top 10 and will depart tomorrow in 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 still sent a message to the field. "Tomorrow I'm sure I will feel better and much more used to the kart."

First race, with a 20-minute length, will start at 10h30 (Brazilian time) and can be watched on Eurosport. The second one, 10 minutes longer, begins at 15h00. 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:

1º) Felipe Massa, 41.619, média de 89.78 km/h
2º) Antonio Pizzonia, 41.793
3º) Nelson Piquet Jr., 41.801
4º) Lucas Di Grassi, 41.985
5º) Luciano Burti, 42.008
6º) Enrique Bernoldi, 42.274
7º) Felipe Giaffone, 42.282
8º) Marcos Gomes, 42.322
9º) Vitantonio Liuzzi, 42.345
10º) Vitor Meira, 42.391
11º) Ricardo Zonta, 41.831
12º) João Paulo Oliveira, 41.846
13º) Tony Kanaan, 41.857
14º) Alexandre Barros, 42.002
15º) Xandynho Negrão, 42.048
16º) Popó Bueno, 42.108
17º) Robert Doornbos, 42.157
18º) Hoover Orsi, 42.205
19º) Giuliano Losacco, 42.224
20º) Jaime Câmara, 42.351
21º) Cacá Bueno, 42.397
22º) Rubens Barrichello, 42.407
23º) Tarso Marques, 42.428
24º) Tiago Monteiro, 42.476
25º) Jean Alesi, 43.052