bigbadbrother
03-19-2015, 12:42 AM
SportsCar365.com
Alex Zanardi will compete in the Total 24 Hours of Spa this year, a new challenge for the Italian, as he’ll share his cockpit with other drivers for the first time.
After a break of four years, Zanardi returned to racing in 2014 as a BMW works driver and competed solo in the Blancpain Sprint Series with a BMW Z4 GT3 modified to his special needs.
The Spa 24 Hours — and endurance racing in general, however, requires the presence of teammates.
BMW’s engineers had to find solutions to modify the Z4 GT3 in a way that allows driver changes between Zanardi and the other drivers who are not disabled in a very short space of time.
BMW Motorsport is therefore developing special components for accelerating, braking and changing gears.
Zanardi will prepare himself by participating in the Paul Ricard round (1000km) of the Blancpain Endurance Series, followed a couple of days later by the official test day for the 24 Hours of Spa.
Zanardi’s team, teammates and further race outings will be announced at a later date.
“To compete in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will definitely be the next highlight in my career,” said Zanardi.
“I have been dreaming of racing in an endurance classic like this for a long time, and it is great that Jens Marquardt and BMW Motorsport are turning this dream into a reality.
“If you first look at it, it seems impossible that a guy with no legs like me competes together with ‘normal’ drivers in such a highly competitive, tough and prestigious event.”
Alex Zanardi will compete in the Total 24 Hours of Spa this year, a new challenge for the Italian, as he’ll share his cockpit with other drivers for the first time.
After a break of four years, Zanardi returned to racing in 2014 as a BMW works driver and competed solo in the Blancpain Sprint Series with a BMW Z4 GT3 modified to his special needs.
The Spa 24 Hours — and endurance racing in general, however, requires the presence of teammates.
BMW’s engineers had to find solutions to modify the Z4 GT3 in a way that allows driver changes between Zanardi and the other drivers who are not disabled in a very short space of time.
BMW Motorsport is therefore developing special components for accelerating, braking and changing gears.
Zanardi will prepare himself by participating in the Paul Ricard round (1000km) of the Blancpain Endurance Series, followed a couple of days later by the official test day for the 24 Hours of Spa.
Zanardi’s team, teammates and further race outings will be announced at a later date.
“To compete in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will definitely be the next highlight in my career,” said Zanardi.
“I have been dreaming of racing in an endurance classic like this for a long time, and it is great that Jens Marquardt and BMW Motorsport are turning this dream into a reality.
“If you first look at it, it seems impossible that a guy with no legs like me competes together with ‘normal’ drivers in such a highly competitive, tough and prestigious event.”