Zanardi Leaves Hospital after Horror Crash

Italian Alex Zanardi, who lost both legs in a high-speed crash at a CART race in Germany, has left hospital and says he hopes to race again some day.

Zanardi was kept in a coma and remained in critical condition for days after the accident during the American Memorial race at the Lausitzring track on September 15 and on Tuesday thanked the doctors at a Berlin hospital who had saved his life.

"I feel well enough now to return home and to start a new life there," Zanardi, 35, told a news conference before heading for Monte Carlo with his wife Daniela and three-year-old son Niccolo. "I am very grateful to the doctors who saved my life."

Zanardi, who survived a serious Formula One crash in 1993, had just come out of the pits after 142 laps of the 154-lap race at the Lausitzring oval when his Honda/Reynard was struck hard and destroyed by Canadian Alex Tagliani's Ford-Cosworth/Reynard.

The Italian, who drove in Formula One for the Williams, Jordan, Minardi and Lotus teams, spun across the grass and into the path of Tagliani, who was driving at an estimated 320-km/h and could not avoid him. Both cars ended up crashing into a wall and the race was stopped.

In Berlin, where Zanardi has spent the last seven weeks, he said he would begin a rehabilitation programme in his hometown of Bologna within a few days.

"My energy is back," he said. "Now my goal is to be able to walk again (with the aid of artificial limbs). In about one year - that is my new challenge." He said he did not want to rule out returning to motor racing.

"Motor sport is an important part of my life," he said. "Perhaps I will indeed drive in races again some day, I don't really know."

Huge Crash

Zanardi said he could not remember the accident. But he said he has seen videotapes of it.

"It was a huge crash, horrible," he said. "I'm happy that I'm still alive and I try not to think about what I lost."

The condition of Canadian Tagliani was far less serious. He had sustained only light injuries and was discharged from hospital after being kept in overnight for observation. Zanardi embarked on his CART career in 1996. After winning the Rookie of the Year award, he won the championship in 1997 and 1998, becoming only the third driver in the history of the series to claim back-to-back titles.

Zanardi was leading the race before his final fuel stop, after which he spun on cold tyres and was hit by Tagliani's car. It was the third major accident at the Lausitzring, a new track south of Berlin.

Former Formula One driver Michele Alboreto was killed at the track last April during a test session for the Le Mans 24-hour classic. German investigators said a burst tyre was the cause of his fatal crash. A few days later a steward died after being hit by a car during a training session for a German sports car race.