Ex Champ Da Matta In Critical Condition

[Chris]

Cristiano da Matta suffered severe head injuries Thursday after striking a deer during Champ Car testing at Elkhart Lake, Wis. The 32-year-old Brazilian was airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center hospital where he underwent surgery Thursday night. His condition was critical. “After arriving at Theda Clark Medical Center, a head CT scan showed Cristiano had suffered a subdural hematoma," stated Dr. Chris Pinderski, Champ Car Director of Medical Affairs. "He was urgently taken to the operating room for surgical removal of the hematoma and is now being observed in the intensive care unit.” The next 24 hours will be crucial for the 2002 CART champion as doctors try to reduce the swelling in his brain. According to an eyewitness, da Matta was heading for Turn 6 at Road America when the deer ran out in front of him and struck the right front of his RuSPORT Lola. The deer caromed into the cockpit as da Matta smashed into the tire barrier with his foot still planted on the throttle. Safety crews extracted him on a backboard and applied an oxygen mask as he was taken to a helicopter. In the wake of the crash, RuSPORT announced that Justin Wilson and the #9 team will not participate in the final day of Champ Car testing at Road America. da Matta was coming off his first podium of the season, a second place last Sunday at San Jose

[KK3869]

Yeah that was sad to hear, keep your fingers crossed.

[Chris]

Da Matta's condition improving
Former Toyota Formula 1 driver Cristiano da Matta is making “slow but steady progress” in hospital after sustaining traumatic head injuries in a freakish accident at Road America last Thursday.

The 32-year-old Brazilian was testing his RuSPORT Champ Car at the Wisconsin venue when he hit a stray deer that ran into his path on the 130mph climb towards turn six.

Skidmarks indicated that da Matta saw the deer and braked, but data showed he was still travelling at 90mph when the animal struck his crash helmet.

The impact knocked him unconscious and, according to eyewitness accounts, he plunged off the circuit and into the barrier with his foot still on the throttle.

The Champ Car safety team was on the scene within 40 seconds and da Matta was airlifted to the Theda Clark Memorial Hospital in Neenah, Wisconsin, where he underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma – bleeding between the brain and the skull.

He remains under close observation by neurosurgeons in intensive care, where he is being held in an induced coma with the aim of giving his brain as much chance of recovery as possible.

Doctors report that da Matta’s condition is stable and they have begun to reduce the level of his sedation.

“Cristiano continues to make slow but steady progress while in the Intensive Care Unit at Theda Clark Medical Center,” Champ Car medical director Dr Chris Pinderski said in a statement.

“At this point in his recovery, Dr [Randall] Johnson has begun to decrease Cristiano’s sedation.

“The care Cristiano has been receiving has been excellent and he’ll remain in the Intensive Care Unit while his condition and progress are being monitored.”

News of da Matta’s accident has sent shock waves through the close-knit Brazilian community in both American open-wheel racing series, Champ Car and the IRL, as well as Formula 1.

In Hungary last Friday afternoon, Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa joined other Brazilian members of the paddock at the Toyota motorhome to pray for da Matta’s recovery.

Cristiano’s RuSPORT team will post updates on his condition at www.rusport.com.

Well-wishers are invited to make a donation to the Champ Car World Series’ official charity at www.holeinthewallcamps.org