Alex Zanardi
Zanardi was fitted with two prosthetic limbs and began an ambitious rehabilitation program. Dissatisfied with the limitations of legs available commercially, Zanardi designed and built his own bespoke legs, to allow him to compare the weight and stiffness of various feet in order to find the most suitable for racing. In 2002, CART honoured Zanardi by giving him the privilege of waving the checkered flag in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2003, Zanardi was not only back behind the wheel, he was also racing again, with the aid of hand-operated brake and accelerator controls. He completed the final thirteen laps at the race track which had nearly killed him in 2001, and did so at highly competitive speeds approaching 310 km/h (193 mph). In fact, had he been qualifying for the race that weekend, he would have been fifth. It was a fitting testament to his recovery and persuaded him that a race return was something to pursue.
Zanardi competed in his first race since the accident at Monza, Italy, in a touring car modified to allow the use of his prosthetic feet, finishing the race quite impressively in seventh. In 2004, Zanardi returned to racing full-time, driving for Roberto Ravaglia's BMW Team Italy-Spain in the FIA European Touring Car Championship. The season did not see him score many points, but for 2005 matters were much improved, in a series which became the World Touring Car Championship by adding two non-European races. On August 24, 2005, Zanardi won his first world series race since his accident at Lausitzring. He had taken advantage of the championship's reverse grid system, in which by finishing the weekend's first race in 8th, a driver starts the second on pole. Still, Zanardi had held off attacks from several drivers, and duly celebrated his win with a series of trademark "donuts". He then finished the season strongly.
Since 2004, he has had his own range of kart chassis, called the Zanardi which has been raced in the European Championships by Martin Plowman. Plowman won the Asia-Pacific Championship for Zanardi just three months after the formation of the company. In 2006, several Zanardi karts took part in the CIK-FIA World Championship and ICA World Cup.
Zanardi returned to a Formula 1 car in late November 2006 at a testing session for BMW Sauber in Valencia, Spain. The car had been specially adapted to have hand controls fitted on the steering wheel. After the drive Zanardi told the main problem he was having was using only his right hand to steer through corners, as his left operated the throttle.[2] Zanardi was quoted as saying, "Of course, I know that I won't get a contract with the Formula One team, however having the chance to drive an F1 racer again is just incredible."[3][4]
In 2007 he achieved a 4th place in the New York City Marathon in the handcycle division.[5]
Zanardi has been married to Daniela (née Manni) since 1996, and they have a son, Niccolò. He has co-written two books based on his life, Alex Zanardi: My Story (2004) and Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory (2004).
Zanardi and his story have been featured on the HBO sports series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
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Zanardi Edition NSX
Alex Zanardi Edition Acura NSX, basically a Japanese Honda NSX Type S variant, was introduced in 1999 for the U.S. market to commemorate his 2 back-to-back championship wins in 1997 and 1998 in the North American CART Champ Car open wheel racing series. Only 51 examples were ever built, and all were painted New Formula Red to reflect the color of the Champ Car he drove to 2 titles for Chip Ganassi Racing. Number 0 was a press car, while number 1 was a gift from Acura/Honda to Zanardi himself. Number 2 through 50 were sold to the general public through Acura dealerships across the nation.
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Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Team 7UP Jordan | Jordan 191 | Ford V8 | USA |
BRA |
SMR |
MON |
CAN |
MEX |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
HUN |
BEL |
ITA |
POR |
ESP 9 |
JPN Ret |
AUS 9 |
31st | 0 |
| 1992 | Minardi Team | Minardi M192 | Lamborghini V12 | RSA |
MEX |
BRA |
ESP |
SMR |
MON |
CAN |
FRA |
GBR DNQ |
GER Ret |
HUN DNQ |
BEL |
ITA |
POR |
JPN |
AUS |
- | 0 |
| 1993 | Team Lotus | Lotus 107B | Ford V8 | RSA Ret |
BRA 6 |
EUR 8 |
SMR Ret |
ESP 14 |
MON 7 |
CAN 11 |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
HUN Ret |
BEL DNS |
ITA Inj |
POR Inj |
JPN Inj |
AUS Inj |
20th | 1 |
| 1994 | Team Lotus | Lotus 107C | Mugen Honda V10 | BRA |
PAC |
SMR |
MON |
ESP 9 |
CAN 15 |
30th | 0 | ||||||||||
| Lotus 109 | FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
HUN 13 |
BEL |
ITA Ret |
POR |
EUR 16 |
JPN 13 |
AUS Ret |
|||||||||||
| 1999 | Winfield Williams | Williams FW21 | Supertec V10 | AUS Ret |
BRA Ret |
SMR 11 |
MON 8 |
SPA Ret |
CAN Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR 11 |
AUT Ret |
GER Ret |
HUN Ret |
BEL 8 |
ITA 7 |
EUR Ret |
MAL 10 |
JPN Ret |
19th | 0 |
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References
- ^ Zanardi the brave. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ Driver who lost both legs returns to F1. carsnaps.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ Zanardi to return to F1 cockpit. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ Zanardi makes happy return to F1. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ Zanardi_4th_in_N.Y.C._marathon. tsn.ca. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
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External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jimmy Vasser |
CART Series Champion 1997-1998 |
Succeeded by Juan Pablo Montoya |
| Preceded by Adriano de Micheli |
Italian Touring Car Champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Roberto Colciago |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Gil de Ferran |
CART Rookie of the Year 1996 |
Succeeded by Patrick Carpentier |
| Preceded by Hermann Maier |
Laureus World Sports Award For Comeback of the Year 2005 |
Succeeded by Martina Hingis |
|
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