Alex Zanardi 19th October 2003

Racing Comeback By Alessandro Zanardi

Alessandro Zanardi will be competing in motorsport again for the first time since he suffered severe injuries as a result of an accident two years ago. The Italian lost both legs when he was competing in a round of the American ChampCar Championship at the Lausitz EuroSpeedway on 15 September 2001. Now, he'll be back in business again for BMW in the FIA European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) on 19 October 2003. In Monza, Zanardi will be the third pilot in the BMW Italy-Spain Team managed by Roberto Ravaglia driving in the final race of the European Championship. He will be piloting a BMW 320i specially adapted to his requirements.

In the race two years ago, Zanardi was in the lead. He pitted 13 laps before the finishing line and then lost control of his car just after the exit. There was a bad crash with another car and the former Formula 1 pilot spent several days on the danger list.

"Two years ago I escaped death by a whisker," commented the 36-year-old from Bologna. "Although the situation was really bad at the time, I set myself the goal of leading a normal life again at some time in the future. Today, I can walk, I swim, I go skiing, and on 19 October I will complete my vision by competing seriously in a race. I should like to thank the entire BMW Team Italy for this fantastic opportunity and for all the energy that has been invested in the engineering that was necessary for me. I also have to thank the company Fadiel for their inestimable cooperation. I believe that sometimes in life it's difficult to regain your courage after a stroke of bad luck. If I manage to keep pace in Monza in October, I shall have reaffirmed my faith in myself: where there'‚s a will, there's a way."

The engineers from Ravaglia Motorsport have converted a BMW 320i for Alex Zanardi. He can accelerate on the steering wheel and the clutch is operated on the gear shift.

Team manager Roberto Ravaglia is totally committed to the project: "When Alex came to us and said he wanted to drive a BMW, we immediately put all systems on go to provide full technical support. We have already seen some exciting performances from the telemetry data. His performance is particularly impressive when you reflect on the obvious difficulties and the lack of training. That motivates the team to prepare the car in the best possible way."

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen is enthusiastic about the project: "It's an honour for us that Alex is able to make his dream come true in a BMW. We are extremely happy to provide him with the support of all our expertise and engineering skills. His project reflects the BMW Motorsport philosophy of always searching for new frontiers. Whatever the result of the race, Alex has already won through as far as I'm concerned."

Alessandro Zanardi will turn out for promotional laps with the BMW 320i in Monza on 25 September and he will also be available to answer questions from the media on this occasion.

Zanardi to make racing return

Alex Zanardi will compete for the first time in two years in the final round of the European Touring Car Championship. The Italian, who lost both his legs in a crash during a Cart race in 2001, will drive a modified BMW 320i for Ravaglia Motorsport at Monza on Sunday.

"After my accident my biggest dream was to carry my son on my shoulders," said the 36-year-old double Cart champion. "My next dream was to race a car again. I never thought it would end up like this," he added.

Zanardi's car has its accelerator and clutch attached to the steering wheel.

Last month, he tested the car for the first time in 20 practice laps at Monza, achieving times in line with other drivers in the touring series.

Zanardi lost his legs in a horrific crash during a Cart series race in Germany in September 2001.

Dr Claudio Costa, who has monitored Zanardi's rehabilitation since the accident, said the driver's achievements since the accident were inspirational. "His example sends a message to humanity," said Dr Costa.

But the 36-year-old driver has ruled out a permanent return to competitive racing. "This is my last race. There are plenty of things I do now beyond the track," he said.

When Alex Zanardi makes his first competitive outing in a racing car for over two years at Monza this weekend, it will be at the wheel of a BMW 320i ETCC - and the result of an exploratory trip to find out more about hand controls for his road car.

The one-off appearance in the final round of the 2003 FIA European Touring Car Championship is a dream come true for the Italian driver, and has been made possible thanks to Ravaglia Motorsport, which runs the BMW Team Italy-Spain entries in the series.

The 320i has been specially modified for Zanardi, who lost the lower part of both legs following an horrific CART Champ Car accident at the Lausitzring in 2001, but surprisingly few changes have had to be made to accommodate the Monaco-based driver.

The idea for the modifications came when Zanardi took his road-going BMW 540i to the team, which is based in Padova, not far from Bologna, where he was born, for them to modify it for him. The suggestion of them doing the same for a racing car started as a joke. However Ravaglia engineer, Roberto Trevisan, who worked with Zanardi in F3000, suggested they could do the modifications to a 320i built for the 2001 season that was still being used for winter testing.

The team tried many different systems but claimed, in the end, that the simple ones were the best. The throttle has been moved to the steering wheel and Zanardi will use his left hand to operate it, while he uses his right to operate the gear lever.

For safety reasons, it was obvious that he must be able to brake quickly, and it soon became obvious to the team he had enough force in his prosthesis to brake normally. The main task then was to move the brake to where the throttle was usually located, and also to put the seat in a position where Alex would be able to brake with the force of 85 kilos, which matches that of the other drivers.

The clutch system on the car is normally a quick shift, which is used by the drivers only for downshifting and not for upshifting. For Alex, there is now a small lever on the gear lever and this he can use to adjust the clutch to the position he needs.

Although these modifications have added extra weight to the car, both Alex and the team feel confident he can be as competitive as the championship's regular drivers. This belief was born out when he drove the car in Monza on 25 September.

"After my accident my biggest dream was to be able to carry my son, Niccolo, on my shoulders, and I have done that thanks to the amazing medical team who looked after me," Zanardi explained after his first outing with the car, "My next dream was to race a car again, and Ravaglia Motorsport has now made this dream come true. I never thought that when I went to see them to discuss my road car it would end up like this!"

Zanardi: Here to have fun

Alex Zanardi was the centre of attention at Monza on Friday as the Italian prepared a sensational return to professional racing in the ETCC. Two years ago, the motor racing fraternity looked on in horror as Alex Zanardi was led away from a terrible CART accident which cost the Italian both legs and almost his life.

Those people will watch Eurosport in admiration this weekend when Zanardi makes his racing return in the ETCC. Barry Thomas spoke to him about his remarkable comeback.

I am really happy to be here, which I have to say really. I know that my professional career is behind me and that I have won lots of trophies and fortunately I have gained a massive amount of financial satisfaction, but I'm not here for the money, I'm here to have fun - that's why I started motor racing and that's why I am back again.

I am proud and honoured to be here and many people tell me that I inspire them but for me I am only trying to put my life back to normal again. I am looking forward to a good fight.

I don't feel as prepared as when I was a professional driver as I have only had a few tests but I have a good feeling with the car as it suits my driving style and my braking is getting very close to being perfect. I can manage to get the same brake pressure as other drivers with good grip for the corners. I don't think that I will be able to battle for victories straight away but by the end of next year, I hope so.

I think I will be afraid, afraid of going off at the first corner but certainly not because I might hurt myself. But I want to leave Monza on Sunday satisfied that I gave my best, I don't want to be disappointed, that's not what I'm about. If I give 100% and finish fifth then I will be happy.

Yeah, seeing me racing again will surprise quite a few people. Two years ago they saw me as somebody that was close to dying and when they turn the TV's they will see me racing a BMW and will probably think 'that's a hell of a recovery', but I knew a long time ago that I could drive again because at the end of the day you are only as good as what you've got in here (pointing to his head), and it doesn't matter that I'll be sitting in the car with my feet strapped to the brake pedal. I think I still have the potential, despite me disability, to be a competitive racing driver.

Well the braking system is no different from the other drivers, well, I am not benefited in any way, in fact I don't have the power system that they have. When we first tried the system we used the steering brake system but wasn't comfortable with that and then we tried using me feet and I soon realised that I probably had about 75% of the sensations necessary to assert pressure on my leg in order to brake.

At first it was very hard but we have worked on the structure of the leg and my physical condition to perfect it. At first, looking at the telemetry, it was like a flat mountain - I would brake, the line would go flat and drop off quickly, which is not good, but now there is a strong peak when I brake and then a gentle release as I take the corner, which is close to the other BMW drivers.

Alex Zanardi still knows how to drive fast.

In his first competitive race since losing both legs in a crash with Canadian Alex Tagliani in a CART race in Germany two years ago, Zanardi was involved in a six-car pileup Sunday in the first race of the closing event of the FIA European Touring Car Championship. Then he finished seventh in the second race at the Monza circuit, coming back from an eighth-row start.

Riding a specially modified BMW, the former Formula One driver said he wanted to show he could race competitively again. More than 30,000 fans crowded the track and hundreds mobbed him for autographs before the race.

"I still remember how to drive and I will see next year whether to repeat this experience," he said. "I enjoyed it. I'm not enthusiastic about the result, but I enjoyed racing."

Zanardi last raced in Monza with the Williams Formula One team in the 1999 Italian Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Italian hand operated the car's accelerator and clutch, which are attached to the steering wheel, and used his thigh to apply special brakes.

In Race One, Zanardi started from the sixth row following his 11th place in qualifying. He was caught in a pileup of six cars at the first curve, ending the race after about a half-mile.

"I am used to bad luck and I was certainly unlucky to run into a first corner collision," he said.

Starting from behind in Race 2, Zanardi climbed to seventh place by the end of the nine-lap event, 15.3 seconds behind BMW German teammate Jorg Muller, who won ahead of Tom Coronel of the Netherlands and Gabriele Tarquini of Italy.

"My car was going fast in Race Two and I overtook several opponents," Zanardi said. "I battled some drivers who were in the run for the championship. Thus I'm satisfied after all."

U.S. drivers Jimmy Vasser and Tony Kanaan flew to Monza to support Zanardi.

"He may have lost his legs but he did not lose his spirit and his love for motor racing," said Vasser, who was Zanardi's teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing.

"I found him in fantastic shape," Kanaan said.