TOUCH THE SKY from tim hahne on Vimeo.
He lost his legs, but not his attitude.
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Racing fans knew for a long time that Alex Zanardi had the drive and determination to win world championships.
His American Formula 1 Champ Car championship victories in 1997 and 1998 were testimony to that. But few would expect a driver returning from an accident like the one he suffered in September 2001– a horrific and near-fatal 200+ mph crash at Germany’s Lausitzring in which Zanardi lost both his legs and nearly died from a lack of blood.
He has since returned to motor racing, won an Olympic gold medal, and will return once more to compete once in the prestigious Blancpain Endurance GT Motorsport series.
This wasn’t a decision Zanardi took lightly following his accident. The racer wasn’t even self-sufficient for his basic needs after his accident, let alone jumping back into a car again.
With support from friends, Zanardi returned to racing in 2004, campaigning for BMW for the full season of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
His BMW was equipped with hand controls: a brake behind the wheel, a throttle above it, and a clutch lever on the gear shifter. Zanardi and the team quickly realized the limitations the newly-modified car imposed. Having to take corners with one palm held tightly against the outside rim of the steering wheel was highly problematic; so they subsequently moved to a foot-operated brake pedal custom built for his prosthetic legs.
It was an emotionally cathartic experience for Zanardi when he put on his old race suit for the first time and realized that he was still a race car driver.
And, apparently, he was still a winner. Zanardi consistently returned impressive results in the WTCC that year, followed by consecutive wins for the next five seasons in a row.
During this time though, the Italian racer had also begun to compete in hand-cycling, taking victories in several events. This culminated in two gold medals for the men’s road time trial at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, and recently two more hand titles– earning him worldwide support and respect far beyond that of the race car community.
Zanardi is now making a return to motorsport in the Blancpain GT Endurance Series–once again racing for BMW– and this time in a specially adapted BMW Z4 GT3.
“When I saw that car for the first time, I just fell in love with it,” Zanardi gushed.
He has lost none of his desire. “No race driver lines up with the goal of finishing last,” he said. “I obviously want to be up there with the front-runners, and maybe for victories. But that is not the be-all and end-all for me. It is more important to go about a new challenge with enthusiasm. And that is definitely the case here for me.”
A phenomenon, Alex Zanardi came back and did the impossible. Drawing on his cast-iron determination and his enormous will to live, the 47-year-old Italianfought his way forward.
He explains his determination and attitude throughout his return to racing and his handbike cycling success like this, and it’s truly what real champions are made of:
“I am out to prove that there are no obstacles for the disabled, ” Zanardi said. “What happened to me is behind me– it cannot affect my future if I can take advantage of the experience.”
~Via Alex Zanardi, BMW, Motorsport, Tim Hahne, One Hot Lap
by Slippy Massey
This post originally appeared at the Humboldt Sentinel. Reprinted with permission.
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