| Alessandro Zanardi | |
|---|---|
| Zanardi in 2007, as a WTCC driver | |
| Nationality | |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Active years | 1991 - 1994, 1999 |
| Teams | Jordan, Minardi, Lotus, Williams |
| Races | 44 (41 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Career points | 1 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1991 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Last race | 1999 Japanese Grand Prix |
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna, Italy) is an Italian racing driver. The World Touring Car Championship ( WTCC) is an international Touring Car championship organized by the FIA. The FIA Super Licence is a qualification allowing the Licence holder to take part in Formula One Grands Prix as a driver Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1999 Formula One season was the 50th FIA Formula One World Championship season Early history Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season. Minardi was an Automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. 1950s Colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967 The Formula One World Drivers' Championship (WDC is awarded by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ( FIA) to the most successful Formula One The term " pole position " comes from the Horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race The 1991 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 29, 1991 at the Circuit de Catalunya. The 1999 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 31, 1999 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka, Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. Champ Car, was the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades primarily for use in the Indianapolis He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver. More recently, he has attracted widespread praise for his return to competition in the aftermath of a crash in 2001 that resulted in the amputation of his legs. Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or Surgery. As of 2008, he competes in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for BMW Team Italy-Spain. The World Touring Car Championship ( WTCC) is an international Touring Car championship organized by the FIA. Throughout its history BMW cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of Motorsport activities
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Alex Zanardi was born in Bologna. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy His sister was a promising swimmer until her death in an automobile collision. [1]
Zanardi began racing karts aged 13. For other meanings see Kart (disambiguation Kart racing or karting is a variant of Open-wheel Motor sport with In 1988, he joined the Italian Formula 3 series, becoming a championship contender by 1990. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. In 1991, he moved up to the Formula 3000 series with the Il Barone Rampante team, who were themselves newcomers to the series. This is an article about the racing team For the novel by Italo Calvino see The Baron in the Trees. Winning on his F3000 debut, he went on to score two more wins that season, en route to second in the championship.
By the end of 1991 he had commenced his career in Formula One. Three starts for Jordan were his reward for a strong F3000 campaign. Early history Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season.
For 1992 Zanardi had to be content with guest drives for Minardi, replacing the injured Christian Fittipaldi. Europe / Formula One Fittipaldi graduated to Formula One following a Formula 3000 championship winning season in 1991. In the off-season, he tested for Benetton, but contracted with Lotus for 1993. Benetton Formula Ltd, commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. 1950s Colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. Zanardi compared reasonably to teammate Johnny Herbert and was important in fine-tuning the team's active suspension system, scoring his first ever F1 point at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Complete Formula One results ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, Shock absorbers and linkages that connects a Vehicle to its Wheels Suspension The 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on March 28, 1993. However, his season ended prematurely after he suffered a terrible crash during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. The 1993 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on August 29, 1993.
Still injured, Zanardi missed the beginning of the 1994 season, but he returned in the Spanish Grand Prix, replacing Pedro Lamy, who had been hurt in a testing crash. The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1994 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 29 1994 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona. Racing career Early years After graduating from karting Lamy won the Portuguese Formula Ford Championship in his debut year in 1989 at the age of 17 However, that year's Lotus was highly unreliable, and Zanardi failed to score a single point or qualify higher than 13th. When Lotus' F1 effort collapsed at the end of the year, Zanardi spent a brief time in Sports car racing in 1995, his Formula One career seemingly over. Sports car racing is a form of circuit Auto racing with Automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels
In 1996, Zanardi made the switch to CART, having won a seat at Chip Ganassi Racing. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing The team's race engineer Mo Nunn advised Chip against signing him, as he believed Italian drivers were too prone to mistakes. Morris 'Mo' Nunn is a Motor racing team owner and engineer from England. Tellingly, Mo later signed Alex for his own team.
He rapidly became one of the series' most popular drivers. He took pole for his second race, although his first win didn't come until mid-season. In total he won three races in his rookie season, finishing in a tie for second in the championship points (officially scored third as Michael Andretti had won more races) behind team-mate Jimmy Vasser (who did not win after round 6 of the season) and being named Champ Racing Rookie of the Year. For the Walt Disney Pictures film about Jim Morris, see The Rookie (2002 movie. Jimmy Vasser (born November 20 1965 in Canoga Park, California) is an American racing driver and current race team owner Champ Car, was the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades primarily for use in the Indianapolis He would win the championship for Ganassi in both 1997 and 1998, bringing home twelve victories.
A win came at Laguna Seca for the final race of the 1996 season, where he conducted a highly risky overtaking move at the Corkscrew corner (known to many racing fans as 'The Pass'; the maneuver was banned for future years), on race leader Bryan Herta, having fought his way through the field. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (previously known as Laguna Seca Raceway) is a paved road Racing track used for both Auto racing and motorcycle racing Bryan Herta (b May 23 1970, Warren Michigan) is an American race car driver After winning a race, Zanardi was fond of spinning his car around in tight circles, leaving circular donut-shaped patterns of tyre rubber on the track; this would eventually become a popular means of celebrating race wins all across America. A doughnut (also spelled "donut" is a sweet Deep-fried piece of Dough or batter. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Zanardi's CART success caught the eye of Sir Frank Williams, who inked him to a three-year contract in 1999. Sir Francis Owen Garbatt Williams CBE (born April 16 1942 is founder and manager of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team In pre-season testing, he was fast; however, everything went downhill from there. Plagued by numerous reliability issues, Zanardi also made a series of crucial errors, his F1 return in Australia a prime example. He was consistently outpaced by team-mate Ralf Schumacher and rumours spread that he would not last long at Williams. Ralf Schumacher (born June 30, 1975 in Hürth-Hermülheim near Cologne is a German racing driver and the younger brother of seven-time A late season up-turn in speed seemed to signal a breakthrough. At both Spa and Monza he looked competitive, but problems cost him a good result. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a Motorsport Race track near the town of Monza, Italy, north of Milan. At Monza he had qualified an impressive fourth and briefly held second, but brake difficulties curtailed his pace and he dropped to seventh. The season ended with Zanardi failing to maintain his Monza form; he was dropped for 2000. Jenson Button replaced him. Jenson Alexander Lyons Button, often called Jense, (born 19 January, 1980) is a British Formula One racing driver from England
The 2000 season was one of reflection for Zanardi. Out of a drive, he considered his options and began to plot a CART comeback. He tested for Mo Nunn and opted to sign to the team for 2001. It was not a successful return; for whatever reason he struggled to rekindle his past form. Then tragedy struck. In by far his most competitive race of 2001, he suffered an horrific accident which ended his single-seater racing career. It happened at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, located in the southern part of the German state of Brandenburg, on September 15. The EuroSpeedway Lausitz is a Race track located near Klettwitz in the state of Brandenburg in Eastern Germany, near the borders to Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. This was the first major sporting event in the world after September 11, 2001. Primary word was that it was to be canceled along with all other events, however it went on as planned, retitled the American Memorial 500.
The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps. After a late pit stop, Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Alex Tagliani, who was travelling at over 330 km/h (205 mph). In motorsports a pit stop is where a racing Vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling new Tires repairs mechanical adjustments Alexandre Tagliani ( Born October 18 1972) is an Italian Canadian Auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec Tagliani had no chance of avoiding a collision, and Zanardi's car was t-boned behind the front wheel, splitting the monocoque in half. Side collisions are vehicle crashes where the side of one or more vehicles is impacted The near-fatal collision amputated both of his legs above the knee. Zanardi lost a massive amount of blood, but survived due to the quick actions of the medical teams.
Zanardi was fitted with two prosthetic limbs and began an ambitious rehabilitation program. In Medicine, a prosthesis (plural prostheses) is an Artificial extension that replaces a missing Body part. Dissatisfied with the limitations of legs available commercially, Zanardi designed and built his own bespoke legs, to allow him to compare the weight and stiffness of various feet in order to find the most suitable for racing. Bespoke is usually a British English term for Tailored clothing (including coats suits and shirts made at a customer's request and exactly to the In 2002, CART honoured Zanardi by giving him the privilege of waving the checkered flag in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Racing flags are traditionally used in Auto racing and similar motorsports to communicate important messages to drivers Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page In 2003, Zanardi was not only back behind the wheel, he was also racing again, with the aid of hand-operated brake and accelerator controls. He completed the final thirteen laps at the race track which had nearly killed him in 2001, and did so at highly competitive speeds approaching 310 km/h (193 mph). In fact, had he been qualifying for the race that weekend, he would have been fifth. It was a fitting testament to his recovery and persuaded him that a race return was something to pursue.
Zanardi competed in his first race since the accident at Monza, Italy, in a touring car modified to allow the use of his prosthetic feet, finishing the race quite impressively in seventh. Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a Motorsport Race track near the town of Monza, Italy, north of Milan. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct Auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars In 2004, Zanardi returned to racing full-time, driving for Roberto Ravaglia's BMW Team Italy-Spain in the FIA European Touring Car Championship. Roberto Ravaglia (born May 26, 1957, in Venice, Italy) currently runs BMW 's Team Italy-Spain in the World Touring BMW Motorsport is the division of BMW responsible for motorsport-related activities including works-run competition programmes in Touring car racing Sportscar The European Touring Car Championship was an international Touring car racing series organized by the FIA. The season did not see him score many points, but for 2005 matters were much improved, in a series which became the World Touring Car Championship by adding two non-European races. The World Touring Car Championship ( WTCC) is an international Touring Car championship organized by the FIA. On August 24, 2005, Zanardi won his first world series race since his accident at Lausitzring. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The EuroSpeedway Lausitz is a Race track located near Klettwitz in the state of Brandenburg in Eastern Germany, near the borders to He had taken advantage of the championship's reverse grid system, in which by finishing the weekend's first race in 8th, a driver starts the second on pole. Still, Zanardi had held off attacks from several drivers, and duly celebrated his win with a series of trademark "donuts". He then finished the season strongly.
Since 2004, he has had his own range of kart chassis, called the Zanardi which has been raced in the European Championships by Martin Plowman. For other meanings see Kart (disambiguation Kart racing or karting is a variant of Open-wheel Motor sport with Plowman won the Asia-Pacific Championship for Zanardi just three months after the formation of the company. In 2006, several Zanardi karts took part in the CIK-FIA World Championship and ICA World Cup. The Karting World Championship is ruled by the CIK-FIA. It takes place once a year each year in a different country and is Kart racing flagship event
Zanardi returned to a Formula 1 car in late November 2006 at a testing session for BMW Sauber in Valencia, Spain. BMW Sauber F1 are a Formula One team with bases in Hinwil, Switzerland and Munich, Germany. The Circuit de Valencia (officially named " Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo " is a Motorsport Race track located in Cheste Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The car had been specially adapted to have hand controls fitted on the steering wheel. After the drive Zanardi told the main problem he was having was using only his right hand to steer through corners, as his left operated the throttle. [2] Zanardi was quoted as saying, "Of course, I know that I won't get a contract with the Formula One team, however having the chance to drive an F1 racer again is just incredible. "[3][4]
In 2007 he achieved a 4th place in the New York City Marathon in the handcycle division. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The New York City Marathon ( ING New York City Marathon for Sponsorship reasons is a major annual marathon (42 A handcycle is a type of human powered land vehicle powered by the Arms rather than the legs, as on a Bicycle. [5]
Zanardi has been married to Daniela (née Manni) since 1996, and they have a son, Niccolò. He has co-written two books based on his life, Alex Zanardi: My Story (2004) and Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory (2004).
Zanardi and his story have been featured on the HBO sports series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports Newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995.
Alex Zanardi Edition Acura NSX, basically a Japanese Honda NSX Type S variant, was introduced in 1999 for the U. Development In 1984 Honda commissioned Pininfarina to design the HP-X ( H onda P ininfarina X perimental which had a mid-mounted 2 S. market to commemorate his 2 back-to-back championship wins in 1997 and 1998 in the North American CART Champ Car open wheel racing series. Only 51 examples were ever built, and all were painted New Formula Red to reflect the color of the Champ Car he drove to 2 titles for Chip Ganassi Racing. Number 0 was a press car, while number 1 was a gift from Acura/Honda to Zanardi himself. Number 2 through 50 were sold to the general public through Acura dealerships across the nation. Acura (アキュラ Akyura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company.
(key)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Team 7UP Jordan | Jordan 191 | Ford V8 | USA | BRA | SMR | MON | CAN | MEX | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP 9 | JPN Ret | AUS 9 | 31st | 0 |
| 1992 | Minardi Team | Minardi M192 | Lamborghini V12 | RSA | MEX | BRA | ESP | SMR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR DNQ | GER Ret | HUN DNQ | BEL | ITA | POR | JPN | AUS | - | 0 |
| 1993 | Team Lotus | Lotus 107B | Ford V8 | RSA Ret | BRA 6 | EUR 8 | SMR Ret | ESP 14 | MON 7 | CAN 11 | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL DNS | ITA Inj | POR Inj | JPN Inj | AUS Inj | 20th | 1 |
| 1994 | Team Lotus | Lotus 107C | Mugen Honda V10 | BRA | PAC | SMR | MON | ESP 9 | CAN 15 | 30th | 0 | ||||||||||
| Lotus 109 | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN 13 | BEL | ITA Ret | POR | EUR 16 | JPN 13 | AUS Ret | |||||||||||
| 1999 | Winfield Williams | Williams FW21 | Supertec V10 | AUS Ret | BRA Ret | SMR 11 | MON 8 | SPA Ret | CAN Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 11 | AUT Ret | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL 8 | ITA 7 | EUR Ret | MAL 10 | JPN Ret | 19th | 0 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jimmy Vasser | CART Series Champion 1997-1998 | Succeeded by Juan Pablo Montoya |
| Preceded by Adriano de Micheli | Italian Touring Car Champion 2005 | Succeeded by Roberto Colciago |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Gil de Ferran | CART Rookie of the Year 1996 | Succeeded by Patrick Carpentier |
| Preceded by Hermann Maier | Laureus World Sports Award For Comeback of the Year 2005 | Succeeded by Martina Hingis |