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Cristiano da Matta

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Monteiro and the second or paternal family name is da Matta.
Cristiano da Matta
Da Matta at the 2006 Grand Prix of Long Beach
NationalityBrazil Brazilian
Born (1973-09-19) 19 September 1973 (age 51)
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Achievements2002 CART FedEx Championship Series Champion
Champ Car career
101 races run over 6 years
Years active1999–2002, 2005–2006
Team(s)Arciero-Wells
PPI Motorsports
Newman-Haas
PKV Racing
Dale Coyne Racing
RuSPORT
Best finish1st - 2002
First race1999 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead)
Last race2006 Grand Prix of San Jose (Streets of San Jose)
First win2000 Target Grand Prix of Chicago (Chicagoland)
Last win2005 Grand Prix of Portland (Portland Raceway)
Wins Podiums Poles
12 20 7
Formula One World Championship career
Active years2003–2004
TeamsToyota
Entries28
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points13
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry2003 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2004 German Grand Prix

Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born 19 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional racing driver. He won the CART Championship in 2002, and drove in Formula One with the Toyota team from 2003 to 2004.

Biography

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Origins and early career

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Da Matta driving for West Surrey Racing at Silverstone during the 1995 British Formula 3 Championship season.

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 Brazilian Formula 3 championship against the likes of Hélio Castroneves and Ricardo Zonta. In 1995, da Matta participated in the British Formula 3 series, winning one race and placing eighth in the standings. He then placed eighth in the following year's Formula 3000 championship, with a best finish of fourth at Pau.

North American racing

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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 seven races and securing four 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 seven race wins and seven poles.

Formula One

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Da Matta driving for the Toyota team at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.
Cristiano da Matta in 2004.

Da Matta completed a move to Formula One in 2003, 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 before ultimately finishing tenth. He led the 2003 British Grand Prix for seventeen laps after the race was disrupted by a protester who invaded the track and triggered the deployment of the Safety Car. This caused most of the front-running cars to make unscheduled pit stops leaving da Matta in the lead, ultimately finishing seventh for one of four points-scoring finishes in his debut season. His fortunes took a downturn in 2004, however. Having scored only three 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

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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

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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

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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", "The biggest thing I felt was just a sense of relief. For me, it was a big, big relief, bigger than big".[13] da Matta paired with former Champ Car champion, Jimmy Vasser, to enter the Rolex Series racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2008.[14] after a solid race, the pair were classified in 32nd position.

Brazilian Championship Formula Truck

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In December 2009, da Matta tested a Fórmula Truck vehicle owned by Iveco,[15] and in January 2010 confirmed that he would run the 2010 Fórmula Truck season for the team.[16]

American Le Mans Series

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In 2011 da Matta signed for Rocketsports Racing to race in the American Le Mans Series. He scored six points at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.[17]

Film and media

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Da Matta and his 1999 car appear in the movie Driven, starring Sylvester Stallone.

Da Matta is a playable character in the video games Formula One 2003 and Formula One 04.

In 2017, a documentary was released about his and his father's lives in motorsport, entitled "Família Gasolina" (Gasoline Family). It is available for free on YouTube.

Post-racing career

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Da Matta is no longer racing and is involved in the financial and logistical side of the family Da Matta Design clothing business.[18]

Racing career

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Complete British Formula 3 results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Pts
1995 West Surrey Racing Mugen A SIL
1
2 		SIL
2
4 		THR
1
Ret 		THR
2
Ret 		DON
Ret 		SIL
DSQ 		SIL
Ret 		DON
1
11 		DON
2
16 		OUL
1 		BRH
1
3 		BRH
2
6 		SNE
20 		PEM
1
Ret 		PEM
2
5 		SIL
1
9 		SIL
2
6 		THR
Ret 		8th 81

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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(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
Sources:[19][20]

Complete Indy Lights results

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(key)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points Ref
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 [21]
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 [22]

Complete CART/Champ Car results

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(key)

Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points Ref
1999 Arciero-Wells Racing 25 Reynard 99i Toyota RV8D MIA
14 		MOT
25 		LBH
20 		NAZ
4 		RIO
21 		GAT
17 		MIL
11 		POR
11 		CLE
20 		ROA
21 		TOR
24 		MIC
17 		DET
19 		MDO
9 		CHI
14 		VAN
5 		LS
22 		HOU
11 		SRF
13 		FON
23 		18th 32 [23]
2000 PPI Motorsports 97 Reynard 2Ki Toyota RV8E MIA
12 		LBH
25 		RIO
4 		MOT
4 		NAZ
13 		MIL
14 		DET
23 		POR
5 		CLE
3 		TOR
4* 		MIC
17 		CHI
1 		MDO
17 		ROA
13 		VAN
7 		LS
15 		GAT
4 		HOU
14 		SRF
4 		FON
25 		10th 112 [24]
2001 Newman/Haas Racing 6 Lola B01/00 Toyota RV8F MTY
1* 		LBH
2 		TEX
C 		NAZ
10 		MOT
25 		MIL
25 		DET
7 		POR
10 		CLE
7 		TOR
15 		MIC
4 		CHI
19 		MDO
10 		ROA
6 		VAN
20 		LAU
26 		ROC
3 		HOU
6 		LS
20 		SRF
1 		FON
1 		5th 140 [25]
2002 Newman/Haas Racing Lola B02/00 Toyota RV8F MTY
1* 		LBH
8 		MOT
13 		MIL
11 		LS
1* 		POR
1* 		CHI
1* 		TOR
1* 		CLE
16 		VAN
12 		MDO
13 		ROA
1 		MTL
2 		DEN
3 		ROC
2 		MIA
1* 		SRF
8* 		FON
11 		MXC
2 		1st 237 [26]
2005 PKV Racing 21 Lola B02/00 Ford XFE LBH
10 		MTY
6 		MIL
11 		POR
1* 		CLE
16 		TOR
17 		EDM
17 		SJO
10 		DEN
18 		MTL
6 		LAS
12 		SRF
19 		MXC
14 		11th 139 [27]
2006 Dale Coyne Racing 19 Lola B02/00 Ford XFE LBH
5 		HOU
9 		MTY
9 		MIL
13 		13th 134 [28]
RuSPORT 10 POR
5 		CLE
14 		TOR
5 		EDM
18 		SJO
2 		DEN MTL ROA SRF MXC

Complete Formula One results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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 RVX-03 3.0 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 RVX-04 3.0 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
Sources:[19][29]

† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete American Le Mans Series results

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Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points Ref
2011 Jaguar RSR GT Jaguar XKR GT2 Jaguar 5.0 L V8 SEB
Ret 		LBH
6 		LIM
Ret 		MOS MID AME BAL MON PET 26th 6 [30]

References

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  1. ^ "RUSPORT ANNOUNCES DRIVER CHANGE". Champ Car World Series. 9 June 2006. Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  2. ^ "UPDATE: Da Matta In Critical Condition". Speed Channel. 3 August 2006. Archived from the original on 15 August 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Cristiano da Matta Still in Critical Condition", PaddockTalk, 4 August 2006. Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Update on Condition of RuSPORT Driver Cristiano da Matta" Archived 7 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, RuSPORT, 3 August 2006.
  5. ^ "Update on Condition of Champ Car Driver Cristiano da Matta" Archived 7 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, RuSPORT, 5 August 2006.
  6. ^ "Cristiano da Matta's Condition Continues to Improve" Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, RuSPORT, 7 August 2006.
  7. ^ "Cristiano Da Matta Making Steady Progress" Archived 24 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, RuSPORT, 9 August 2006.
  8. ^ "Christiano Da Matta Transferred out of Intensive Care" Archived 24 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, RuSPORT, 20 August 2006.
  9. ^ "More Progress for Cristiano da Matta" Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, RuSPORT, 30 August 2006.
  10. ^ "Da Matta leaves hospital", F1technical, 21 September 2006.
  11. ^ "Da Matta yet to decide on his future". Grandprix.com. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2006.
  12. ^ "Motorsport.com: News channel". 12 April 2008. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Comeback continues for de Matta". The Indianapolis Star. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ da Matta Returns to Track in GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Test[dead link‍], Grand-Am, 25 March 2008.
  15. ^ "FÓRMULA TRUCK: Cristiano da Matta testa F-Truck em Brasília (15/12/2009)". www.gpnews.com. 15 December 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  16. ^ "Cristiano da Matta disputará temporada da Fórmula Truck - Esportes". Estadão.
  17. ^ "2011 American Le Mans Series Presented By Tequila Patron Championship Points Standings" (PDF). www.americanlemans.com/. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2011.
  18. ^ Brown, Allen. "Cristiano da Matta". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Cristiano da Matta Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Cristiano da Matta". Motor Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Cristiano da Matta – 1997 Firestone / Dayton Indy Lights Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Cristiano da Matta – 1998 Firestone / Dayton Indy Lights Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Cristano da Matta – 1999 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Cristano da Matta – 2000 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Cristano da Matta – 2001 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Cristano da Matta – 2002 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Cristano da Matta – 2005 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Cristano da Matta – 2006 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  29. ^ "Cristiano da Matta – Grands Prix started". StatsF1. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  30. ^ "Cristiano da Matta – 2011 American Le Mans Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
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