Di Grassi wins, but IndyCar hopeful shines in Massa’s kart event
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| The only woman in the race, Bia Figueiredo, gives the boys a clinic on driving and wins Race 2 |
12/19/10 Lucas di Grassi won, but IndyCar ace Bia Figueiredo stole the show by grabbing the second heat at the International Challenge of Go-Kart Champions at Arena Sapiens in Florianopolis, Brazil. Di Grassi failed to finish the Sunday race, but the 25 points he collected with his victory on Saturday were enough to give him the first spot on the aggregate results even tough Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello and Bia Figueiredo have scored the same amount. Final positions were defined according to the race 1 order at the checkered flag.
For the first time Felipe Massa’s promoted event was split in two days. Di Grassi achieved the race 1 on Saturday night and seemed to be on the way to his first victory in Florianopolis when was forced to withdrawn with a broken pipe after being hit in the back by Antonio Pizzonia. The lead changed all the time and Jaime Alguersuari, Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello were about to win the double-header dispute until Bia, who had started only 11th and was the sole female presence in the field, started moving up in he 28-lap race.
The last laps were dramatic. Alguersuari, Massa and Barrichello were close to get the title, but it eventually went to Di Grassi, who at that time was with his fingers crossed in the pits waiting for a positive combination of results. Supporters in the grandstands went crazy when Bia dived over Barrichello to take P1n the final stages and then cruised to a victory. "I never dreamed about overtaking a driver like Barrichello in a race", celebrated Bia, who is still chasing a seat in IndyCar for 2011.
Race 1
1 – LUCAS DI GRASSI – 28 laps in 26:11.874 (77,988 km/h)
2 – FELIPE MASSA + 2s017
3 – ANTONIO PIZZONIA + 2s372
4 – JAIME ALGUERSUARI + 3s579
5 – TONY KANAAN + 4s178
6 – MARCOS GOMES + 4s323
7 – VITOR MEIRA + 8s246
8 – RUBENS BARRICHELLO + 8s449
9 – LUCIANO BURTI + 8s712
10 – ALLAM KHODAIR + 9s123
11 – BIA FIGUEIREDO + 12s686
12 – FELIPE GIAFFONE + 13s461
13 – THIAGO CAMILO + 15s753
14 – JOÃO PAULO OLIVEIRA + 17s387
15 – XANDINHO NEGRÃO + 22s538
16 – MAX WILSON + 23s738
17 – RICARDO MAURICIO + 23s763
18 – CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI + 23s859
19 – RICARDO ZONTA + 23s880
20 – POPÃ" BUENO + 24s151
21 – BRUNO SENNA + 25s362
22 – LEONARDO NIENKOTTER + 50s364
23 – ALBERTO VALÉRIO + 1 lap
24 – MARCOS PASQUIM + 2 laps
25 – CACÃ� BUENO – a 19 voltas
DNF – HELIO CASTRONEVES + 20 laps
DNF – ENRIQUE BERNOLDI + 27 laps
Best lap: Lucas Di Grassi – 55s393 (78,443 km/h)
Race 2
1 – BIA FIGUEIREDO – 28 laps in 26:16.166 (77,190 km/h)
2 – RUBENS BARRICHELLO + 1s361
3 – FELIPE GIAFFONE + 2s275
4 – TONY KANAAN + 2s717
5 – MARCOS GOMES + 3s419
6 – ALLAM KHODAIR + 4s789
7 – JOÃO PAULO OLIVEIRA + 5s556
8 – JAIME ALGUERSUARI + 6s295
9 – LEONARDO NIENKOTTER + 8s170
10 – RICARDO ZONTA + 8s679
11 – FELIPE MASSA + 9s046
12 – VITOR MEIRA + 9s109
13 – ENRIQUE BERNOLDI + 9s790
14 – THIAGO CAMILO + 10s525
15 – XANDINHO NEGRÃO + 12s078
16 – MAX WILSON + 15s628
17 – RICARDO MAURICIO + 16s008
18 – LUCIANO BURTI + 16s228
19 – HELIO CASTRONEVES + 18s891
20 – BRUNO SENNA + 22s225
21 – ALBERTO VALÉRIO + 24s538
DNF – CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI + 7 laps
DNF – POPÃ" BUENO + 7 laps
DNF – CACÃ� BUENO + 13 laps
DNF – MARCOS PASQUIM + 23 laps
DNF – LUCAS DI GRASSI + 24 laps
DNF – ANTONIO PIZZONIA + 25 laps
Best lap: Bia Figueiredo – 55s408 (78,421 km/h)
Aggregate results:
1) Lucas Di Grassi – 25 points
2) Felipe Massa – 25
3) Rubens Barrichello – 25
4) Bia Figueiredo – 25
5) Tony Kanaan – 24
6) Jaime Alguersuari – 21
7) Marcos Gomes – 21
8) Felipe Giaffone – 19
9) Antonio Pizzonia – 16
10) Allam Khodair – 16
11) Vitor Meira – 13
12) Jọo Paulo Oliveira Р11
13) Luciano Burti – 7
14) Leonardo Nienkotter – 7
15) Ricardo Zonta – 6
16) Thiago Camilo – 5
17) Enrique Bernoldi – 3
18) Xandinho Negṛo Р2