Alex Zanardi made his name in F1, WTCC, and eventually in CART. At EuroSpeedway Lausitz he was struck by another car, and the nose cone of his car was severed. He lost both of his legs, and three quarters of his blood. Good responses from the medical team saved his life, but his auto racing career had come to an abrupt end.
Since then, he has taken up hand cycling. He won the New York City Marathon on his fourth attempt in his class, a gold medal for the men's road time trial H4, won the individual H4 road race, and a silver medal for the mixed team relay H1-4 at the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Now, after testing a specially modified BMW DTM car for 32 laps of the Nurburgring in 2012, he's taking up competitive racing once more. He'll be competing in the Blancpain GT Sprint Series in a BMW Z4 GT3.
"From both a human and a sporting aspect, Alex is a role model to all of us. I am sure he will approach this new challenge in the Blancpain GT Sprint Series in the same manner we have become accustomed to from him. You can really sense just how much he has missed competing on four wheels," said BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt.
We just think he's a paragon of willpower.
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[via Indy Star]
