It's official: Zanardi's 'vacation' is over

The 34-year-old double CART champion will drive a Pioneer Electronics-backed Reynard-Honda alongside Brazilian Tony Kanaan in a two-car squad.

"The opportunity is so good that I cannot continue with my 'vacation'," said Zanardi. "I am looking forward to working with Morris again, and I'm thankful to Pioneer and Honda for making this possible."

Zanardi won back-to-back titles in 1997-'98, and has scored 15 race wins from 51 starts. He then returned to Formula 1 in 1999, but suffered a disastrous season with Williams, after which he took a year out from racing.

"When we began this adventure, we intended to be a two-car race team all along," said team owner Morris Nunn, who was formerly Zanardi's engineer at Chip Ganassi Racing before starting his own team. "Frankly, though, we really didn't expect to bring together a program of this caliber, with competitors like Tony and Alex, quite this soon. I'm very happy to have on board a proven champion in Alex, and a young champion-in-the-making in Tony. It's the best of both worlds from a team owner's standpoint."

Honda will replace Mercedes-Benz as the engine supplier to the Indianapolis-based team.

"We're delighted to begin our association with Mo Nunn Racing," said Robert Clarke, general manager of Honda Performance Development. "It will give Honda the opportunity to reunite with several individuals who each have contributed to our success in Champ Car racing - two-time champion Alex Zanardi, Tony Kanaan, a former Rookie of the Year and US 500 race winner, and of course, Morris Nunn."