Cristiano Da Matta Eagerly Awaits Comeback Race

By Joe Jennings
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Updated: May 1, 2008

Alton, Va. ? Cristiano DaMatta makes his racing comeback at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca the weekend of May 17 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For the Rolex Series Sports Car Series race, he will drive a Daytona Prototype with good friend and Champ Car stalwart Jimmy Vasser. And he can?t wait to get going.

Da Matta?s comeback is a miracle of sorts, as he bounces back from severe injuries sustained in a freak accident at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin in August, 2002. While testing at the storied track, da Matta?s car struck a deer at high speed, demolishing the car. The unlucky driver suffered severe head injuries, and it took a long while to determine whether a successful recovery was possible.

After a number of surgeries and a lengthy hospital stay, da Matta?s healing process allowed him to leave the hospital and begin a grueling rehabilitation program.

Throughout the ordeal, the Brazilian maintained a positive attitude with a long-range goal of racing again. Whether that would happen was somewhat of an unknown but his doctors were impressed with his remarkable turn-around. And a few weeks ago they cleared him to race.

His big chance came when Rolex Series championship owner Bob Stallings offered him a ride in a Daytona Prototype as a teammate to Vasser. (Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty drove the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Pontiac Riley to the 2007 championship.)

While only the Laguna Seca race is funded, Stallings is optimistic that sponsorship will materialize to enable the new team to expand its schedule
?I always want to be the best at what I am doing and two-car teams are the way to go,? Stallings said. ?If I can, I will have a No. 98 and No. 99 team battling for the Rolex Series championship next year.?

?I am very excited about my comeback effort,? da Matta said at Virginia International Raceway while spending the weekend with the Stallings team. ?To have the chance to get back to my work is very nice. I have had enough vacation.?

Said Stallings about his new driver, ?Jimmy Vasser is a leader within our team, and he told me all these stories about Cristiano, although I really didn?t know him. Once he started to recover, Cristiano started coming around. I thought he was such a great person, so I said to him we will go see if you can race when the doctors say it is okay. Once they did so, we went forward.?

To start the process, Stallings arranged for da Matta to test a Daytona Prototype at Eagles Canyon Raceway near Dallas a few weeks ago. ?I didn?t know what to expect but after the second day, it was very clear to me that not only could he race but he was awesome,? Stalling said with a smile. ?He was truly on it.?

Da Matta was very inspired with the test results. ?It was a great feeling to know that I hadn?t forgotten how to drive. I was very comprehensive getting into the car. Let?s say I couldn?t do it, I would have to go out and find something else to do. Racing is No. 1 in my life. And for me to get to race with Bob Stallings and my old friend Jimmy Vasser is a dream come true.?

Da Matta?s previous sports car experience came in a one-time effort in the Rolex24 at Daytona a few years ago. ?It was Paul Newman?s birthday and he invited me to race with him, which was a pleasure to do. He and I are old friends from my Champ Car days.?

Looking ahead, da Matta doesn?t see a return to open-wheel racing as he believes his age is against him. ?I should be able to do better with the prototypes and maybe GT cars, although open-wheel has a nice place in my heart. But I have to realize that I will be better off in sports-car racing.?

While da Matta has completed his therapy, he spends his spare time working on conditioning. ?I have had a lot of time to get in shape and I have been racing mountain bikes in Brazil for several weeks. My doctors? suggested bike racing would be a good place for me to start.?

Another change in his life occurred recently when he married his long-time girl friend, Vanessa Franco. ?To have her help me with everything at home is nice, and it is nice not to be lonely. Vanessa was by my side at the hospital in Wisconsin and has been a great person for me.?

In preparation for his comeback, daMatta has been spending as much time as possible with the team, plus he has spending considerable time with computerized race games. ?I am a video game maniac and I have been doing it a lot, which is what my doctors wanted me to do. Years ago my mom thought I spent far too much time playing video games, but now it is part of my physical therapy program.?

Everything is in place for da Matta?s comeback and the plucky driver can?t wait to restart his career.