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Thursday October 1, 2009

Massa back in driver’s seat — kart wise

SAO PAULO: Brazilian Felipe Massa made a second sortie in a kart on Tuesday after Monday’s rain-truncated first stint in a racing car since his life-threatening head injury at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Massa, who had to stop after seven laps on Monday, had a busier session in three different karts on Tuesday at the Granja Viana track near Sao Paulo where he went with his brother Eduardo.

Felipe Massa

Wearing extra protection above his left eye where he was hit by flying debris in Budapest in July, Massa made a series of maneuvres and looked well and comfortable at the wheel, completing numerous laps.

A source close to the Ferrari driver said earlier on Tuesday that Massa was accompanied by his doctor, Dino Altmann, on Monday.

Altmann told Massa to avoid driving for more than an hour to avoid back pain but light rain that became steadily worse prevented him from doing more than seven laps.

The 28-year-old did not feel any pain or discomfort, added the source.

The Brazilian said last week he would take part in a kart race, his first competitive outing since the July accident, in late November in the southern Brazilian city of Florianopolis.

Massa, last year’s drivers’ championship runner-up, will not return to Formula One until next season. — Reuters

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