Zanardi wins Gold at the London Paralympic Games
Former F1, CART, and WTCC driver Alessandro Zanardi won the time trial event in handcycling at the London Paralympic Games.
A few weeks ago, the Pitstop column revisited the career of Alessandro Zanardi, former F1 driver and double CART champion in 1997 and 1998. After an accident in this category in 2001, the Italian lost both legs. He then participated in the ETCC championship, which later became the WTCC, in which he won three races.
On August 29, he was among the 4,200 disabled athletes participating in the London Paralympic Games. The former pilot, now 45 years old, was competing in the handcycle discipline (handbike).
The Italian participated today in the time trial event on the Brands Hatch circuit and triumphed, winning the Gold medal for his country by completing the 16km course in 24 minutes, 50 seconds, and 22 hundredths, with an average speed of 38.7 km/h. The victory was duly celebrated by another former F1 driver and CART champion, Juan Pablo Montoya: « Congratulations to Alessandro for his Gold medal. You are an incredible person, » wrote the Colombian on the social network Twitter.
« Zanardi Gold medalist, I can’t stop laughing, crying, applauding. What he’s capable of is simply extraordinary. I love you! » Tweeted Mario Andretti, 1978 F1 world champion and four-time IndyCar champion.
Mark Webber, currently third in the 2012 championship, also commented on this victory: « One of the images, if not the image of the day: Alex Zanardi Paralympic champion.»
Alex Zanardi will compete again on Friday for the road event and on Saturday for the relay. Will he win more medals?
