Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born 19 September 1973) is a professional racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Formula One driver with the Toyota team.
Career biography
Origins and early career
Da Matta's father was Toninho da Matta, a 14-time Brazilian touring car champion. Born in Belo Horizonte, Cristiano da Matta began karting at the age of 16, adopting a helmet design nearly identical to his famous father's helmet. He quickly rose to the top by winning numerous karting championships before winning the 1993 Brazilian Formula Ford championship. In 1994, he continued his successful ways, winning the Formula Three Sudamericana championship. In 1995, da Matta participated in the British Formula 3 series, winning one race and placing eighth in the standings. He then placed 8th in the following year's Formula 3000 championship, with a best finish of 4th at Pau.
North American racing
1997 saw da Matta move to the United States for the Indy Lights racing series, in which he won Rookie of the Year honors. The next year (1998), he won the championship by winning 7 races and securing 4 pole positions. In 1999, da Matta raced in the CART series for Team Arciero Wells, which were running Toyota engines; da Matta drove a Toyota-powered car from then until 2004. His first win came in 2000, and despite some sponsor opposition he joined the front-running Newman/Haas Racing team for 2001. He won the CART drivers' championship in 2002 under Toyota power with the Newman/Haas Racing team, dominating the year with 7 race wins and 7 poles.
Formula One
Da Matta completed his move up the racing ladder in 2003, reaching the pinnacle of motor sport with the Toyota Formula One team. He scored 10 championship points that year, four more than seasoned veteran and teammate Olivier Panis, and soon made a name for himself in Formula One when he spent much of the first half of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix hounding reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher in the monsoon-hit race. His fortunes took a downturn in 2004, however. Having scored only 3 championship points, da Matta lost his race seat to Ricardo Zonta after the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. This was not only due to performance issues, but also due to Da Matta openly making statements about how uncompetitive the Toyota was.
Return to USA
In 2005, da Matta moved back to the Champ Car World Series, to race for the PKV Racing team. That season he won the race at Portland, and finished 11th overall in the standings. For the 2006 Champ Car season, he switched to the Dale Coyne Racing to drive the No.19 Ford Lola, until 9 June 2006, when he switched teams again, to take over A. J. Allmendinger's seat at RuSPORT.[1] Second place at San Jose left him 6th overall in the series.
Collision with deer during test
On 3 August 2006, da Matta's car was involved in a collision with a deer that ran in front of him as he headed towards turn 6 during Champ Car open testing at Road America. He hit the deer with his right front tire, the deer then flew back and hit da Matta in the cockpit.[2] It is believed when the deer hit da Matta in the cockpit, he was knocked unconscious. He remained unconscious with his foot still on the throttle when the safety crew arrived and extricated da Matta from the car.[3] Da Matta was then airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin, where he underwent surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.[4] Following the surgery, da Matta was placed in an induced coma, to allow for the swelling to subside.[5] As of 7 August, da Matta was making "slow but steady progress", while the doctors were working on reducing da Matta's level of sedation.[6] This slow recovery was confirmed on 9 August, as it was reported that da Matta was able to move "all of his extremities spontaneously as well as in response to physical stimulation".[7] On 20 August, da Matta was transferred out of intensive care.[8] On 30 August, da Matta was confirmed to have made steady progress, conversing in English and Portuguese, and walking short distances.[9] On 21 September 2006, da Matta was allowed to leave the hospital after having recovered better than expected.[10]
When the Champ Car World Series returned to race in the Grand Prix of Road America on 24 September, da Matta gave the traditional command - "start your engines". Throughout the next couple of years, he engaged in a training and therapy regime while deciding his racing future.[11]
Comeback
On 20 March 2008, da Matta climbed back into a race car for the first time since his accident, completing a two-day test in a Riley Daytona Prototype prepared by reigning Rolex Sports Car Series champions GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing. He found speed right away, and team owner Bob Stallings said "the comeback has begun." [12] da Matta said, "After the test, I realized 'I still know how to do this, I remember this very well. The biggest thing I felt after the test was just a sense of relief. For me, it was a big, big relief, bigger than big." da Matta paired with former Champ Car champion, Jimmy Vasser, to enter the Rolex Series racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2008.[13] after a solid race, the pair were classified in 32nd position.
Brazilian Championship Formula Truck
In December 2009, Da Matta tested team's Iveco truck, and in January 2010 confirmed that he'll race the 2010 Fórmula Truck season for the Iveco team.
American Le Mans Series
In 2011 Da Matta signed for Rocketsports Racing to race in the American Le Mans Series. He scored 6 points at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. history section
Racing career
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Pacific Racing | NÜR 9 |
PAU 4 |
PER 5 |
HOC Ret |
SIL Ret |
SPA 10 |
MAG 5 |
EST 7 |
MUG Ret |
HOC Ret |
9th | 7 |
Complete Indy Lights results
(key)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Brian Stewart Racing | MIA 21 |
LBH 2 |
NAZ 1 |
SAV 21 |
STL 2 |
MIL 4 |
DET 26 |
POR 5 |
TOR 18 |
TRO 4 |
VAN 1 |
LS 1 |
FON 4 |
3rd | 141 | |
| 1998 | Tasman Motorsports | MIA 2 |
LBH 1 |
NAZ 1 |
STL 3 |
MIL 10 |
DET 2 |
POR 20 |
CLE 22 |
TOR 15 |
MIS 2 |
TRO 1 |
VAN 1 |
LS 22 |
FON 11 |
1st | 154 |
Complete CART/Champ Car results
(key)
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | WDC | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF103 | Toyota V10 | AUS Ret |
MAL 11 |
BRA 10 |
SMR 12 |
ESP 6 |
AUT 10 |
MON 9 |
CAN 11 |
EUR Ret |
FRA 11 |
GBR 7 |
GER 6 |
HUN 11 |
ITA Ret |
USA 9 |
JPN 7 |
13th | 10 | ||
| 2004 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF104 | Toyota V10 | AUS 12 |
MAL 9 |
BHR 10 |
SMR Ret |
ESP 13 |
MON 6 |
EUR Ret |
CAN DSQ |
USA Ret |
FRA 14 |
GBR 13 |
GER Ret |
HUN | BEL | ITA | CHN | JPN | BRA | 17th | 3 |
Complete American Le Mans Series results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Jaguar RSR | GT | Jaguar XKR GT2 | Jaguar 5.0 L V8 | D | SEB ovr:Ret cls:Ret |
LNB ovr:12 cls:6 |
LIM ovr:Ret cls:Ret |
MOS | MID | AME | BAL | MON | PET | 26th | 6 |
References
- ↑ "RUSPORT ANNOUNCES DRIVER CHANGE". Champ Car World Series. 9 June 2006. Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ↑ "UPDATE: Da Matta In Critical Condition". Speed Channel. 3 August 2006. Archived from the original on 15 August 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ↑ "Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Cristiano da Matta Still in Critical Condition", PaddockTalk, 4 August 2006. Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Update on Condition of RuSPORT Driver Cristiano da Matta" Archived 7 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine., RuSPORT, 3 August 2006.
- ↑ "Update on Condition of Champ Car Driver Cristiano da Matta", RuSPORT, 5 August 2006.
- ↑ "Cristiano da Matta's Condition Continues to Improve", RuSPORT, 7 August 2006.
- ↑ "Cristiano Da Matta Making Steady Progress", RuSPORT, 9 August 2006.
- ↑ "Christiano Da Matta Transferred out of Intensive Care", RuSPORT, 20 August 2006.
- ↑ "More Progress for Cristiano da Matta", RuSPORT, 30 August 2006.
- ↑ "Da Matta leaves hospital", F1technical, 21 September 2006.
- ↑ "Da Matta yet to decide on his future". Grandprix.com. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
- ↑
- ↑ da Matta Returns to Track in GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Test, Grand-Am, 25 March 2008.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cristiano da Matta. |
- Official website
- Cristiano da Matta driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- da Matta's profile provided by CBS SportsLine
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gil de Ferran |
CART Series Champion 2002 |
Succeeded by Paul Tracy |
| Preceded by Tony Kanaan |
Indy Lights Champion 1998 |
Succeeded by Oriol Servià |
| Preceded by Fernando Croceri |
Brazilian Formula Three Champion 1994 |
Succeeded by Ricardo Zonta |
| Preceded by Colin Edwards Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson |
Race of Champions Nations' Cup 2003 with: Fonsi Nieto Gilles Panizzi |
Succeeded by Jean Alesi Sébastien Loeb |
