Diminutive Brazilian heading for American stardom

Mike Harris

Thursday, April 5, 2001 | 1:54 a.m.

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Little Cristiano da Matta is quickly becoming a big man in CART.

What he lacks in size, da Matta makes up in heart, determination and ability.

The 5-foot-4, 130-pound Brazilian - "I've put on some weight," he says proudly - took over the ride vacated this season by Michael Andretti. He made it clear in winning the season-opener in Mexico that he plans to challenge Andretti and the Champ car sport's other big names for the 2001 championship.

"I'll be surprised if we cannot be a contender," he said. "We've got everything it takes with this team - the equipment, the people and the motivation to win races and championships.

"I've won championships before in other series, and I feel I can fight for this one, too."

For most people, moving to a new team - no matter how elite - would require some adjustments. The 27-year-old Da Matta felt comfortable from the first day he worked with Newman-Haas Racing.

"When you're surrounded by good professionals, that makes it a lot easier," he said.

Although he isn't well known among race fans, da Matta hasn't exactly sneaked up on the CART series.

He graduated from go-karts in 1992 and won the championships of the Brazilian Formula Ford and Brazilian Formula 3 series the next two years before spending two seasons honing his skills in Europe's Formula 3 and Formula 3000 series.

In 1997, da Matta came to the United States and was Rookie of the Year in Indy Lights. He won the championship in the steppingstone series the next season and moved to CART with Arciero-Wells Racing in 1999.

After finishing 18th in the Champ car series as a rookie, he blossomed last year, winning in Cal Wells' Toyota-powered car on the oval in Chicago and finishing 10th in the standings.

"I watched him when he raced the Indy Lights series and, obviously, during 2000," said Carl Haas, who co-owns the team with actor Paul Newman. "Myself and Paul and our engineers - our entire team - felt that Cristiano is a very special race car driver and had lots of potential.

"We felt that he could win races with our team."

The Chicago-based team took to the outgoing youngster immediately, mystifying him with the chant: "Da Bears, Da Bulls, Da Matta!"

"I didn't know what they were saying, but everyone was smiling and laughing so I guess it's OK," da Matta said.

Da Matta and his new teammate, fellow Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi, have had no problem adjusting. They began mountain biking together last year,

"Before the season began, he helped the crew and myself get to know the new Toyota engine quicker than we would have if he wasn't with the team," said Fittipaldi, whose team switched this year from Ford. "That experience helped us get ahead of the game, when it came to planning our strategies for the tracks, and I think it has already paid off."

Fittipaldi was Andretti's teammate for six years, but he says change is good sometimes. He believes he and da Matta will be a good match.

"He is very quick and we share a similar driving style so I think that will help the team learn how to make the car as fast and reliable as possible," Fittipaldi said. "The driving styles that Mike and I had were more different than mine and Cristiano's, so that is also a benefit since we have no in-season testing and limited track time."

While Fittipaldi struggled in Mexico last month, da Matta got off to a great start, scoring 21 of a possible 22 points in the opener. He leads series champion Gil de Ferran by five points going into Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

"The earlier you can get points the better," da Matta said. "Everybody is better prepared late in the season and it's harder to get points. So it's very important to get off to a quick start."

His voice fills with excitement when he talks about the 1.9-mile Long Beach street circuit.

"It's one of my favorite street courses," da Matta said. "When I first drove it in Lights, it was a little too easy for the driver. But they made a few changes since then and now it's a little more challenging.

"If you drive really well and really hard, you can make a difference. You have to drive at Long Beach 101 percent."

For the diminutive da Matta, that's just the way he likes it.

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On the net:

Da Matta: http://www.damatta.com