Felipe Massa picked up where he had left off in Interlagos two months ago by triumphing in a celebrity-studded kart race in his native Brazil, to the obvious delight of the partisan crowd who turned out to watch.

The event, held at Florianópolis in the south of the country, brought together an impressive field including Honda ace – and Massa's Ferrari predecessor – Rubens Barrichello, Renault test-driver Nelson Piquet Jnr, Toro Rosso star Vitantonio Liuzzi, Spyker pilot Tiago Monteiro, Red Bull Racing third driver Robert Doornbos, former grand prix winner Jean Alesi, ex-Formula One aces Luciano Burti, Ricardo Zonta, Antonio Pizzonia, Tarso Marques and Enrique Bernoldi and Indy Racing League front-runner Tony Kanaan.

Wearing the same green-and-yellow driving suit that had helped propel him to victory in the final round of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, Massa scorched to pole position for the first of the weekend's two races, almost two tenths of a second clear of Pizzonia who shared the front row of the grid with his countryman. Piquet Jnr and former Macau Grand Prix winner Lucas di Grassi lined up behind on row two, followed by Burti and Bernoldi, with Liuzzi – who missed all the practice sessions after flying in at the last minute straight from a testing session with Toro Rosso – an impressive ninth. Barrichello would start all the way back in 22nd place after touching wheels with old friend and sparring partner Kanaan.

“It was a perfect lap,” Massa enthused after qualifying. “I felt the kart was very good in the previous sessions, but all the times were very similar. I'm happy to be on pole again, but I know we still have hard work ahead. There is a high level of driving out there and the challenge is going to be a tough one.”

Tough as it may have been, the Sao Paolista blitzed the field to record a lights-to-flag victory in race one, leading home Piquet Jnr and new ART Grand Prix GP2 signing Lucas di Grassi. A GP2-style reverse grid then saw Massa starting well down the order in race two, even dropping as low as 16th place at one point, before recovering to re-assert his authority and lap up the plaudits of his throngs of supporters.

“I was watching Nelson all the time,” he admitted. “My kart was good during the whole weekend and that allowed me to overtake the guys ahead. The important thing was to close the curtains on 2006 in fine style. I now expect another very good year in Formula One, winning more races and perhaps fighting for the world championship.”

Pizzonia eventually claimed fourth place overall, ahead of Bernoldi, Kanaan, IRL star Vitor Meira and Liuzzi.