 Feature: Zanardi Set for a High Speed Return Friday May 9th, 2003 By Patrick Vignal
He will drive. The original idea was for the Italian to act as the grand marshal of the German 500 at the Lausitz EuroSpeedway oval but that was too ordinary for Zanardi's standards. So track promoter Hans-Joerg Fischer suggested Zanardi could drive a specially-designed car around the track before the race and the 36-year-old Italian accepted the challenge. "This is a gesture for the German motor racing fans who love Alex so much and were moved by his fate," said Fischer. "We also hope that a few more spectators will come to watch him." Zanardi has been testing secretly under medical supervision at a track near London in a car designed by his former race engineer Adam Schaechter. "The challenge is to make the car as comfortable as possible," said Schaechter. "Knowing Alex, he will drive it as fast as it will go." The car, equipped with hand controls, will have the same colours and the same 66 number as the Honda-Reynard Zanardi was driving two years ago. He will complete the 13 laps that remained in the CART race when he crashed. European Debut In September 2001, Zanardi, a two-time CART champion remembered for surviving a horrific Formula One crash in 1993, was one of the main attractions at the Lausitz EuroSpeedway. The official European debut of the US racing series was regarded as a test for the promoters of the circuit, a state-of-the-art facility some 145 kms south of Berlin which had been inaugurated the year before when it was presented as the safest circuit in the world. Former Formula One driver Michele Alboreto was killed at the track in April 2001 during a testing session for the Le Mans 24-hour classic. A tyre burst was blamed for the fatal crash. Zanardi had been far from his brilliant best in the build-up to the event but on the day he proved as competitive as ever and was leading the race before his final fuel stop. Just after it, his Honda-Reynard, on cold tyres, spun across the grass and into the path of Canadian Alex Tagliani's Ford Cosworth-Reynard. Tagliani, who sustained only minor injuries, was driving at an estimated 320 km/h and could not avoid Zanardi. The Italian's car was destroyed and debris from both cars littered the track. Zanardi had to have both legs amputated and was put into an artificial coma. His condition remained critical for days. Shortly after checking himself out of hospital, Zanardi was back behind the steering wheel of a car fitted with hand controls. Friends and doctors were stunned when he changed a tyre on his car after a puncture on his way to an interview. No Restart Zanardi has no interest in racing cars any more and Sunday's emotionally-charged drive should not be interpreted as a new start to his career. "Obviously there will be something going through my mind," he said of his return to the Lausitz oval. "I wouldn't be human otherwise, I guess. But, quite frankly, I feel that, psychologically, the accident is definitely behind me." Zanardi left Formula One in 1994 after a spell with unfancied teams, including a severe crash in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1993, and it was not until he joined the CART series that his career really took off. In 1997, he became the second man after Jacques Villeneuve to win the CART title the season after being named Rookie of the Year. That season was impressive with a record five wins including a famous one in Cleveland where he fought back from 22nd place, but the next year was even better. In 1998, he continued to rewrite the record books with seven wins and 15 podium finishes to become the third driver to win back-to-back titles. His CART achievements earned him a return to Formula One in 1999, this time with a top team - Williams. But his car's poor reliability and his struggle to adapt to the technical changes the sport had gone through in his absence meant he was dismissed at the end of the year after disappointing performances. The next year he enjoyed time off with his wife Daniela and son Nicola, who was born in 1999. There was pressure on him to retire but his passion proved too strong and in 2001 he was back in the CART series, which featured two stops in Europe. Zanardi had struggled at the back of the grid for most of the season but the spark was still there and he was in contention for victory on the German oval when his career came to a brutal halt.
Published at 02:36:25 GMT
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Alex Zanardi returns on Sunday to the race track in Germany where he lost both his legs in a crash two years ago but the indomitable Italian is not coming back just for a moving ceremony.
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