Gregor Grant: Alex Zanardi
Alex Zanardi has been given a special Gregor Grant Award at the AUTOSPORT Awards, in recognition of his spectacular return to racing this year after he lost both his legs in a horrific Champ Car accident in 2001
Showing the same indefatigable spirit that led him to two CART titles, Zanardi made an emotional return to the cockpit of a Champ Car at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the scene of his horrific accident. In a demonstration run aboard a specially adapted Reynard, Zanardi showed he had lost none of his speed or skill, lapping at a pace that would have put him right at the sharp end of the grid for the race!
Towards the end of the year, Zanardi made a return to competitive racing, driving a BMW 320i in the final round of the European Touring Car Championship at Monza. Although he was taken out of the opening race in a first corner shunt, Zanardi bounced back to feature strongly in the second race of the day.
The award ensures the popular Italian of a place in the history books, as he becomes the first person to win a second Gregor Grant award. He was first given one of the special awards in 1998.
Zanardi wasn't at the Grosvenor House to accept his award in person, but in a special video message said: "When I got into the Champ Car and did my first laps, everything came back. It was a great emotion. I want to thank AUTOSPORT. To win this award again is a great honour."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments