By any yardstick, Alessandro ‘Alex’ Zanardi is an extraordinary athlete. This former Formula 1 and CART driver, who lost both his legs in a horrific crash in 2001, didn’t let his disability prevent him from participating in one of the toughest endurance races in the world – the 24 Hours of Spa.
Alessandro Zanardi always aims big. His resume as an athlete is already a glittering one, but he seems to have no intention of calling it a day. Zanardi simply loves challenges, and never misses an opportunity to challenge the odds. His return to the racetrack two years after his horrific 2001 accident, the discovery of the hand-cycle, and winning two gold medals in the handcycling road race at the 2012 London Paralympics is the stuff of legends. And if that weren’t enough, Zanardi also completed in the 2014 Ironman World Championship with a time of 9:47.14, ranking 272nd overall and 19th out of 247 in the 45-49 year age category.
For the moment, his last accomplishment has been the 24 hours of Spa – an endurance race for GT3 cars. Zanardi shared driving duties with Timo Glock and Bruno Spengler. We followed him for three days on his Belgian adventure to chronicle a legend in action.
FRIDAY 24/7
Zanardi is the perfect example of what a man can achieve by his willpower, no matter how big the disadvantage. And he never loses any opportunity to underline this to whoever is in a similar condition. And so, on the morning of the 24th of July, he happily agrees to meet a group of physically challenged kids who came to spend a fabulous day at Spa.
“I am a lucky man,” Zanardi explains, “because the accident gave me the opportunity to do things I would have never imagined otherwise. You also have the right to dream.”
FRIDAY 24/7
As a top athlete, Zanardi is followed by a doctor (Riccardo Ceccarelli) and two physiotherapists. The medical team has developed treatments that employ specialized equipment. “The goal is to relax the stressed muscles and improve the vascularization, enhancing recovery and eliminating the build up of toxins and lactic acid,” explains Ceccarelli. Zanardi’s skin cannot disperse heat like that of a normal person. “One of our machines allow us to bring his temperature back to its optimal figure of 37.5 degrees.”
FRIDAY 24/7
It’s time for some physical training at the Spa racetrack, which is now completely empty. Qualifying is over, and the starting grid has been defined (his car will be start from 15th position). Zanardi sits on his hand-cycle, alongside his teammate Timo Glock on a regular cycle. After all, three days after the Belgian 24 Hours race, Zanardi has been called to defend his world Paralympic cycling titles at Notwill, in Switzerland. After the training, his physiotherapist Carlo Terni works on him in the motorhome to relax his distressed muscles.
24/7 10:15
Friday morning, with his teammate Bruno Spengler (on the left), Zanardi meets a group of disabled children. Then he undertakes special physiotherapy sessions in his motorhome (above). On the facing page, a briefing with Glock and Spengler.
SATURDAY 25/7
The day starts at 9:15am with a breakfast that includes milk, coffee and cookies. Diet is extremely important for every athlete, and Zanardi follows a strict regimen. But, now and then, he indulges in a few cups of coffee and something tasty, “because it’s almost impossible to renounce everything you like.” After the first technical meeting with the team at 10:15am, it’s time for some test runs.
It’s a delicate procedure to plan a driver change, which has to be carefully prepared – in this case, it also includes replacing the steering wheel for Zanardi. At 11am, along with his teammates and Jens Marquardt, Director of BMW, Zanardi meets the international press. The life of a driver depends on public relations, which is essential for both team and sponsors.
SATURDAY 25/7
Another briefing with Glock, Spengler and Roberto Ravaglia, the owner of the Roal Motosport team, is necessary to define the driving shifts. During the first few hours of the race, heavy rain is expected. And, in these conditions, it’s recommended that whoever is driving and feels confident with the conditions will remain on track as long as possible (up until the maximum allowed time of 3 hours and 15 minutes). It’s decided that Bruno Spengler will be the first driver.
24/7 19:00
SATURDAY 25/7
Very little time remains now for the race to start, but commitments are not over yet. Zanardi has a lunch of plain pasta, grilled chicken breast and vegetables, then he undertakes another physiotherapy session before signing autographs in the pit lane.
25/7 11:00
At 4:30pm, the race starts. Fifty-seven high-speed cars flood the track for the first of more than 500 laps of the Spa circuit. The second driving shift has been assigned to Glock, while Zanardi waits in the box.
SATURDAY 25/7
Waiting can be nerve-racking. All you can do is watch the race and check the monitors. At 6pm, Zanardi eats an energy bar and some fruit – to keep his glycaemic index at a constant level. Later, he has an isotonic beverage, and, at 8:45pm, a ham and cheese toast, accompanied by grilled vegetables and some water.
25/7 15:30
Rain forces the team to keep following the double-stint technique for each driver – and so the waiting time becomes longer. Then, at 9 pm, it’s time to get ready. But, on the racetrack, the safety car appears for a long period.
SATURDAY 25/7
The pit stop lasts almost 50 seconds (only two mechanics are allowed), and, at 9:41pm, Zanardi can eventually start his first stint – taking over the car in 12th position. On board, he has a water bottle, containing mineral salts and maltodextrins – energy boosters derived from carbohydrates.
25/7 18:00
Zanardi in the pits waiting for his stint. Above, from left: the driver commitments include autographs session and interaction with the audience; the Z4 GT3 liveried with images that resemble the comics of the famous cartoonist Michel Vaillant
SATURDAY 25/7
His stint ends at 11:45pm. Zanardi hands over to Spengler, and, notwithstanding the visible tiredness (photo below), he stops to talk with journalists. “Everything is fine,” he says, “but the racetrack is insidious, since there is only a small dry line. And with slicks you cannot take any risks.” A treatment with oils and lotions awaits him, to lower his body temperature and enhance muscle mass recovery.
25/7 21:40
Then some rest (“But I cannot sleep”) and again a few energy bars. He will return behind the steering wheel from 3:45am to 4:50am. The alarm clock for the following day is set for 8am, but by 7am the driver is already up making his breakfast. “I prepared everything in my motorhome – milk, coffee, cereal, four cookies, and another coffee shot,” he confesses. But it’s in this phase of the race that his car faces a few problems with the right front wheel hub.
The pit stop lasts ten minutes and the team lose precious positions. When Zanardi returns to drive, from 9:07am to 10:27am, his Z4 is 13th. After the stint, physiotherapists come back in action. Lunch, which was scheduled at 12, is cancelled, since the team decides to change strategy to regain ground. Zanardi comes back to drive from 12:35pm to 1:40pm and brings the car back into the top-ten thanks to a series of fast laps.
25/7 23:45
SUNDAY 26/7
The eighth position is a realistic goal for the BMW of the Roal Motorsports team, but a cruel twist of fate springs an ambush. With only an hour left for the end of the race, Glock hears a loud noise – accompanied by a loss of oil pressure. The German driver has no choice but to park his car off to the side of the track. There’s huge disappointment in the team over the unfortunate incident. But later, in front of the press that surrounds him, Zanardi tries to stay positive. “I’m quite tired,” he declares, “because I couldn’t sleep. We were unlucky with several interruptions of the safety car. But our performance was good, and when we were close to the leaders, we kept a similar pace. I believe I have made my contribution.” His driving mates and his team applaud him for his professionalism and willpower. As for BMW, the consolation is the victory of another one of its own machines – piloted by Markus Paltalla, Lucas Luhr, and Nick Catsburg!
A pit stop for the Roal Motorsport team: Zanardi takes the wheel, with the help of an additional mechanic (under special regulations). The BMW Z4 GT3 features a 4.4-litre V8 engine generating 535 horsepower while weighing just 1,250kgs.
A CAR FOR THREE
In order to allow Zanardi to share the car with his teammates, BMW designed a foot control that features a pivot to wedge in the artificial limb – through which Zanardi initiates the brake command. The pedals are separated by a security bulkhead. The steering wheel, equipped with a hand operated accelerator and paddle to change gears (on the left), is replaced when other drivers are on board.
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