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Bianchi wins Massa's karting event

Jules Bianchi beat a field of racing stars to win © Ferrari

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• Drivers:
• Fernando Alonso
• |
• Jules Bianchi
• |
• Felipe Massa

Jules Bianchi has won Felipe Massa's International Challenge of the Stars [Desafio das Estrelas], an annual charity karting event that takes place in Brazil.

The Force India reserve driver, who is in with a chance of landing a race seat this year, scored the most points over the two-round event, with a win in Saturday's race and a fourth-place finish on Sunday. He finished ahead of GP2 driver Felipe Nasr, who won the second race and came second overall, and ex-Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi who was third.

Massa, Fernando Alonso, Bruno Senna and Kamui Kobayashi were among the other current and ex-F1 drivers taking part.

"I am very happy with this victory," Bianchi told Ferrari's website. "I had already won last year, but that time there was a slight mistake with the weight of the kart, but this time everything went well.

"It's nice to race against some of the best drivers and in front of such a big and enthusiastic crowd. I want to the thank the Massa family for everything and I hope I can come back next year to take part again."

Massa himself finished eighth overall after struggling with the performance of his kart.

"This was probably the hardest Desafio ever for me," said the Ferrari man. "If everything is not perfect, then even a tenth can make a big difference. My engine was not at its best yesterday and I paid for that today. The most important thing is that the event is getting bigger year after year. I was very pleased that Fernando was here with us and I'm sure he had fun!"

Alonso had problems with his throttle and had to retire from the first race before finishing 18th in the second race. However, he said he is keen to return next year.

"It was a very enjoyable weekend and I hope the spectators had has much fun as I did. Will I be back next year? If Felipe asks me, definitely!"

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.