Brazilians Drive to Wins in Germany and Chicago

Rubens Barrichello of Brazil scored his first Formula One victory in a wild German Grand Prix on Sunday at Hockenheim, Germany.

The race featured a first-turn crash, a protester walking on the track and the memory of a late champion.

Barrichello, in a Ferrari, battled from 18th place on the starting grid for the first victory by a Brazilian driver in almost seven years and his first in 123 starts.

Sticking with dry-track slicks after rain started 10 laps from the end, Barrichello finished 7.5 seconds ahead of two-time defending champion Mika Hakkinen, who pitted for rain tires. Hakkinen’s McLaren-Mercedes teammate, David Coulthard, was third.

Barrichello covered the 45 laps on the 4.240-mile circuit in 1 hour 25 minutes 34.418 seconds with an average speed of 133.834 mph.

Michael Schumacher was knocked out just after the start for the second consecutive race and had his lead in the season standings cut to two points.

With 20 laps left, a man ran across the track and waved before security officials managed to grab him. Police said the man was a 47-year-old Frenchman protesting his dismissal by Mercedes-Benz.

After the race, Barrichello, hugging a Brazilian flag, broke into tears on the podium. “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it,” he said.

Barrichello dedicated his victory to Ayrton Senna, the late Brazilian champion killed in May 1994 at the San Marino Grand Prix. The last Grand Prix win by a Brazilian was Senna in Australia in November 1993.

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The big day for Brazilian drivers continued in Chicago when Cristiano da Matta, a former housemate of Barrichello’s, won the Target Grand Prix at Chicago Motor Speedway in the Southside suburb of Cicero, Ill.

Da Matta, 26, who claims to be 5 foot 3 and 130 pounds but appears smaller, took the lead late in the race during a series of pit stops. He was able to stay well ahead of points leader Michael Andretti through the final 33 laps on the 1.029-mile oval.

Da Matta’s Toyota-powered Reynard crossed the finish line 1.69 seconds--about 20 car lengths--ahead of Andretti’s Lola-Ford to make him the ninth different winner in 12 races this season.

It was Da Matta’s first victory in 51 CART races, making him the fourth first-time winner this season. It was also the first win for PPI Motorsports owner Cal Wells III, whose team has been at the forefront of the development of the Toyota engine since the company entered the CART FedEx Series in 1996.

Juan Montoya, the defending series champion and defending race winner, started from the pole, led 110 laps and seemed headed for another victory before an electrical problem ended his day on lap 178.

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Gary Scelzi won for the sixth time this season, tying the NHRA record for Top Fuel victories, by defeating Doug Kalitta in the final of the Prolong Super Lubricants Northwest Nationals at the Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Wash. Scelzi’s winning speed was 303.98 mph with an elapsed time of 4.711 seconds. It was the 20th win of Scelzi’s career.

John Force got his sixth Funny Car victory of the season, defeating Frank Pedregon in the final.

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Favored Miss Budweiser, driven by Dave Villwock, was knocked out of the Unlimited Hydroplanes competition on the Columbia River near Kennewich, Wash., when it suffered damage in an elimination heat, opening the door for Mark Evans, who drove E-Lam Plus to victory.

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Todd Burns of Riverside held off Rick Miller of Palm Desert on the final lap to win the 50-lap NASCAR Late Model race in front of 5,802 at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night.