2 years already!

**Craig** · 15 Sep 2003, 19:59 (Ref:719978)

I don't often post in this forum but I felt compelled to post this note to remind everyone that it was two years ago today that poor Alex Zanardi had his shunt in Germany. However it's not a post of doom and gloom, rather one of admiration for the way he's constantly strived to overcome all obstacles placed in his way.

I'm sure you'll all be well aware that he took the wheel of a Champcar and 'finished' his race of two years ago. What you might be unaware of is that he has been testing a BMW Touring Car recently and is set to compete in the final rounds of the European Touring Car Championship at Monza next month. The guy's a legend. Remember his attitude next time you get cut up on the motorway and lose your rag!

**Adam43** · 15 Sep 2003, 22:15 (Ref:720103)

Zanardi is an inspiration to me too. There was a BBC Radio 4 program with him a few months back that was amazing - he suffers no regret or bitterness.

Jay · 15 Sep 2003, 22:21 (Ref:720110)

Yup, Alex's recovery has been one series of amazements after another... it's hard not to be inspired. From his first driving a car with hand controls, his first stepping out of his wheel chair to stand on his new legs, him walking around the paddock of the Toronto paddock last year (fans were almost in tears - got his autograph and his smile was something to behold, you couldn't help but feel that anything in the world was possible from that point on)...and less than a year later him strapping himself into a Champcar again and running laps that would have easily qualified him mid-field in the actual race. Now he's been testing European touring cars and is set to race again.

WOW...thinking back to how I felt after reading of his injuries and now...well, like I said, he's just about proved there's nothing you can't do.

Tailwind · 16 Sep 2003, 01:00 (Ref:720205)

I couldn't add any more than what Jay said. Alex it amazing!

Omega99 · 16 Sep 2003, 02:54 (Ref:720240)

marcus · 16 Sep 2003, 05:02 (Ref:720286)

awesome stuff.

well done Alex you are a true legend.

you may have noticed on the ten tenths home page the inclusion of the terrible date when Alex had his accident.

Sadly (in my stupidity) I have forgotten to add the date that he finished the race in germany this year.

this would be a welcomed addition to the history project so if anyone can dig up the date for me so i can add it to the project it would be greatly appreciated , and Im sure it will be one date that when it appears it will bring a smile to everyones face

CHEERS
Marcus

macdaddy · 16 Sep 2003, 05:59 (Ref:720299)

Didn't Alex complete his 13 laps on raceday this year? If so, that would've been May 11.

Alessandro Zanardi became my favourite racing driver before he ever won a race in CART. When I had the opportunity to speak with the unknown rookie in the Detroit paddock, I was totally taken aback by his charisma. At the time, I wasn't really sure even who he was, just that he was a driver. He asked me if he could look at my program, as he hadn't seen one yet, and as he flipped through the pages he made kind remarks about several of his competitors. I remember like it was yesterday.

Over the next few years, he grew to become my favourite driver of all-time. And that's really saying something, considering that Rick Mears had held that spot in my heart for well over a decade.

But then, following his accident, his undying attitude made him something even greater.

It would be absolutely awesome if he can post some good results at Monza. Somebody please keep me informed if that race is to be broadcast on SV.

Liz · 16 Sep 2003, 11:10 (Ref:720535)

I was at Monza in 1999 when Zanardi was in Formula One, fighting an inexplicably fractious car but nevertheless thrilling the crowd every time he went out. And he was literally the only driver who came outside the sacred paddock to meet fans, give away caps and sign autographs (he was swarmed, as you can imagine!) on that weekend. It was said by some that his friendliness with other teams and with fans was one of the things the F1 fraternity could neither understand nor approve -- but one look at the faces surrounding him that day would have told you that Zanardi hadn't changed a bit from his CART days. He was truly there "for the fans".

And I echo Jay's thoughts from Toronto; Zanardi was a magnet all weekend and he spoke with complete unselfconsciousness of his trials in getting ready to stand before us, even joking, "You know I only did this [lost his legs] to get more publicity!" as he stood on his feet without his crutches and was blinded by the flash of cameras.

And I would like to add a big measure of praise and admiration for his wife, who refused to hear anyone who told her all was lost and who must have been terrified when he stepped back into a Champ Car in the same venue where the accident happened, but who stood before the world and supported him in what he wanted to do, without a word of her own feelings. From what he has often said, he knows what a jewel he has in her, too. In a world where adversity seems to destroy more bonds than it strengthens, she is an inspiration.

I hope Zanardi will come back to visit Champ Cars often and I wish him every good fortune in whatever he decides to do. He is a counterfoil to every Doom and Gloomer who ever lived.

david_james2000 · 16 Sep 2003, 12:13 (Ref:720622)

what a guy, if only other drivers where more like him

DNQ · 16 Sep 2003, 13:35 (Ref:720719)

Yeah, Alex was fantastic - he remains a great inspiration, and thanks to the wondered of hand-throttled cars, a great driver

A true living legend, he has done more since the accident than many of us able-bodied persons will ever do.

I can't put my appreciation of his brilliance into words, I'll just finish by saying the racing circuits of the world need more people like him.

Dov · 16 Sep 2003, 14:42 (Ref:720813)

The world itself needs more people like Alex Zanardi!

macdaddy · 17 Sep 2003, 16:58 (Ref:722076)

"Two years ago I escaped death by a whisker. 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 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."

http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7052

Down F0rce · 17 Sep 2003, 18:40 (Ref:722188)

Alex is amazing. I don't think much else needs to be said

Roll on October the 19th!!

Jordi · 17 Sep 2003, 22:42 (Ref:722482)

Alex Zanardi... a statue has to be made of him, right now! If Gilles was atop the podium in that statue at Maranello, Zanardi should be at least 2nd!

We're seeing a legend. Forget about Michael Schumacher, this legend is not about numbers and stats, but about feelings and human triumph.

Liz · 17 Sep 2003, 23:54 (Ref:722553)

Jordi, that's very profound! Senna commented once "Every year there is a winner; not every year there is a champion." And there are years when there is both a winner and a champion and they are not the same person. Gilles will always be as much a champion to me as Prost, and Zanardi will join them on the podium of my heart. As for TGF, well, his swipe card will not even fit in the door.

JohnSSC · 18 Sep 2003, 03:16 (Ref:722635)

I will just briefly make this personal. My grandfather came here many years ago. He lost his leg in an accident in a steel mill and until his death used a wooden prosthesis. He learned to use, and repair the thing on his own. My father told me that grandpap became so adept with it (remember at the time there were no lightweight components or flexible joints) that he used to be able to chase - and catch - the kids running in the yard!

Despite the "disability" grandpap found work (in 1929 at the start of the Depression), saved enough to buy his own grocery store and proceeded to raise a family of six children working until his late 80s. Living on the same street I saw him often. Not once did he ever grumble or complain about the hand that had been dealt him. He met his adversity head on. He dealt with it and moved on with his life.

The moral? "Heroic" is not a label that can be applied to larger-than-life figures like Zanardi (a man whom I admire greatly, by the way)only, but it can also be applied to those who lift themselves up and refuse to allow something (or someone) else hold them back.

Perhaps the person who does it on their own, without a great deal of financial support knowing that they have everything to lose if they fail are the greater hero. I know that I do not measure up to either man in how they have handled adversity and I know the world would be a poorer place without people like them.

Sorry to fill up the space in such a way, but I felt compelled to comment!

Cheers!

jetsetter · 18 Sep 2003, 10:28 (Ref:722883)

I've got to say that Alex should be an inspiration for everyone, he certainly is for me. I'd like to wish him all the best for October 19th, this will be one of the greatest achievements if not the greatest in motorsport history.

dirtfan · 18 Sep 2003, 16:20 (Ref:723188)

JohnSSC has it right, there are many who ignore their handicap.
The paraplegic in the midwest who drives his micro sprint with the home-built hand controls from a Honda Pilot
The young sprint driver who keeps his shorter prosthetic legs in his driving suit (they fit in the cockpit better), and who was the one handed "big car" driver of the 50s.
And let's not forget Archie Scott Brown, I think that was his name, the one handed British rallye driver.
Let's salute them all!

Dov · 18 Sep 2003, 16:52 (Ref:723222)

How about Terry Fox who lost a leg to cancer and tried to run across Canada to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.....he went from Newfoundland to Northern Ontario, but unfortunatley he had to stop their because the cancer came back. There's also Rick Hansen who wheeled around the world in his wheelchair to raise money for paraplegics....those are the real heroes!!!

DriverT · 19 Sep 2003, 21:40 (Ref:724672)

Zanardi is an inspiration to everyone!

macdaddy · 19 Sep 2003, 21:45 (Ref:724677)

Re-submitted for your enjoyment...

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gmcadorey/Vancouver1997.mp3
http://www3.sympatico.ca/gmcadorey/Zanardi1997.mp3

If you've been here awhile, you've heard them before.

Neil C · 26 Sep 2003, 14:59 (Ref:730867)

It's amazing what medical advances have been made in barely two decades. At Monza in 1978, Ronnie Peterson died of complications from leg injuries he sustained in a crash not nearly as devastating as Alex's.

I have to believe that if Ronnie had the same emergency medical treatment available to him, he'd be with us today.

God bless Alex Zinardi.

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