Massa steals the show at Granja Viana 500 free practice

An unexpected presence stole the show at Granja Viana 500 first free practice session at Kartodromo Granja Viana on Monday. Just arrived from Valence, where he drove on Sunday his F60 for the first time since the Hungarian GP qualifying accident, Ferrari ace Felipe Massa led the (so far) three drivers squad on track. Lucas di Grassi and Stock Car local regular Pop¢ Bueno are already confirmed at Felipe’s Santander sponsored team in the outstanding endurance event scheduled for December 4th and 5th, but the others mates remain a mystery.

"We have no hurry. There is still some time ahead and we are looking carefully at our options", explained Massa, who joined the young winner team in the 1997 and then repeated the success along with Rubens Barrichello and Tony Kanaan in 2002. Barrichello is spending the week in the USA and should take part in the next general test on Monday alongside Kanaan. The pair is the current record holder at Granja Viana, having won eight out of 12 races.

Lucas di Grassi, who took over the kart number 19 after Massa’s initial outing, remains hopeful on his chances of securing a seat in Formula 1 in 2010. "I have a very good chance with Manor and maybe we have some news in the near future. Renault is also another open door. They have a short list of fames, and I’m on it", said the French team reserve and test driver. Timo Glock, tipped as one of the hottest favorites to become Robert Kubica’s partner, is no longer a rival for Di Grassi after the news the German will drive for rookie team Manor.

Thiago Camilo, Nonô Figueiredo and Renato Russo were other Stock Car drivers in action at Granja Viana. According to the promoters, a maximum of 60 karts will be allowed to line up in the grid in this year’s edition.