Sunday, May 11, 2003
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Racing : Motor
The 36-year-old Italian will drive 13 laps in a modified Champ Car before the German 500 on Sunday, completing an oval race that ended for him 20 months ago when he lost both his legs in a gruesome crash. ``The accident is definitely behind me, and this is a little bit to prove this to the fans,'' Zanardi said on Friday at the EuroSpeedway. ``It will be emotional, I expect that, but I will be excited to be back on this track. ``Maybe this will give a boost to people who have problems. If they can see this guy without legs driving 200 mph (320 kph), maybe they can get up and do for themselves and go down to the shop and buy a couple of apples.'' Zanardi showed on Friday he can still drive, taking 10 test laps in a modified Mi-Jack Conquest Racing car with a best lap of 192.901 mph (310.43 kph). The clutch and throttle are controlled by hand, with braking handled by Zanardi's artificial right leg fitted to a special pedal. `I will go as fast as I think I sensibly can (on Sunday). I will try to behave,'' Zanaridi joked. ``Let's put it that way.'' A return to CART is impossible, but Zanardi is thinking about ``entering a competition which is a little bit softer in terms of commitment.'' This from a man who was in a coma for a week after the crash, his legs severed by a blast doctors said resembled a land mine explosion. ``I was talking on the phone with Mario Andretti and I mentioned to him it would be a dream for me to drive the Daytona 24-hour with them,'' Zanardi said. ``His (Andretti's) answer was: `I am always up to a good challenge.' I'm sure I wouldn't have to convince him to go. It would be great to do something like this.'' Zanardi describes his recovery as ``another kind of a race'' and is using the publicity it generates to raise money for the Alex Zanardi Foundation. He recently donated US$85,000 to a French foundation AMAD — World Association for Child Aid. CART is reported to be paying him about US$50,000 for this weekend, which he hopes will help boost the foundation's year-end balance to US$200,000. He said it would go to another children's charity. ``With the exposure I have I can collect a lot of money with very little effort. So it would be stupid to waste it. ``My rehabilitation has been very, very rewarding. I took this as a race. Although I didn't have 200,000 people watching me, I certainly had things to go for. And when I got where I wanted to be, I gained autonomy and freedom. This was a very hard test and I am en route to passing the exam.'' Unlike many who suffer devastating accidents, Zanardi is financially secure after a career in Formula One and CART. He and his wife Daniella and his young son Niccolo live in Monaco. Zanardi talks disarmingly about the crash. He said his first words in a Berlin hospital when he awoke from the post-race coma were: ``Oh man, I've got some work to do here.'' An autobiography due out later this year has the working title: ``I still have my foot on the gas.'' ``There are people in my shoes who would probably feel very unlucky for what they gave lost,'' he said. ``I feel very fortunate for what I have kept.'' Asked if he preferred his previous life, he was frank: ``if I could go back, switch to what I had before. No doubt I would,'' he said. Zanardi said he recalls nothing about the crash, which took place as he was pulling back onto the oval after a pit stop. He lost control and was hit broadside by Alex Tagliani. ``I don't know why. There has got to be a medical explanation why I have erased all these memories.'' Zanardi's upper body is much larger than it was before the crash, built up by gym workouts and walking canes he uses to help him get around. He canoes regularly, skied last winter and walks on a treadmill at a pace of 6 mph (9 kph). ``A macho Italian from the waist up,'' he said. ``I was depressed at times after the accident, but I never stayed that way. I know that I don't have my legs and that's what I have to live with. I have to deal with this situation and work really hard to improve my life quality.''
— AP
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