TWO-TIME CHAMP CAR TITLEWINNER ALEX
ZANARDI TO COMPLETE FINAL LAPS OF 2001 GERMAN 500 AT SPEED IN SPECIALLY-EQUIPPED
CHAMP CAR
INDIANAPOLIS (May 3, 2003) - Profiles in Courage
is a book written by late U.S. President John F. Kennedy that
studied some of the great men of history, but former Champ Car titlewinner
Alex Zanardimay spark a need for a rewrite after what he
will accomplish prior to the May 11 German 500.
The 1997 and '98 CART champion will make an
unprecedented return to the cockpit of a 750hp Champ Car less
than two years after suffering the traumatic amputation of both
legs during an accident at the 2001 Champ Car race at EuroSpeedway
Lausitz, as he will be driving a specially-prepared race car with
hand controls that will allow him to finish the final 13
laps of the race that he did get to complete in 2001.
The car will be fitted with a hand clutch and
throttle mechanism that will allow Zanardi to drive the laps
around the two-mile superspeedway at speed, making the popular
Italian champion the first driver to ever pilot a serious race
car by using hand controls.
"I am honored to serve as the Grand Marshal
for the German 500 and look forward to seeing all of the Champ
Car fans again," Zanardisaid. "It was always nice to be
cheered by the crowd and it will be great to hear those cheers
even through a symbolic effort such as this."
The idea was developed through the efforts of
Champ Car Director of Technology
"I'm really excited about this and the
opportunity to do this with Alex because I know that it is
something that he really wants to do," Schaechter said.
"The challenge really is just to make the car comfortable
for Alex. Getting it to where he can drive it is not really a
problem, and I know that he is not interested in doing anything
half-measure. He will want to go flat out."
The task was made easier for the engineers after Zanardi
sent a surprising report to Schaechter about a trip to a local karting
track with his son and his nephew. As the boys were rocketing
around the track, Alex was coaxed into trying a few laps. His
lower limb was secured to the brake pedal while he worked the
throttle lever with his hand, but Zanardi found to his surprise
that he could put enough pressure on the brake to get the car
stopped and was immediately turning fast laps in the kart. He
immediately sent an email message telling Schaechter of the
development, which was a relief to the designers of the car
controls.
"The most difficult part for us was to find a
way to get the car stopped that was going to be 100 percent
reliable," Dykstra said. "We were experimenting with
hydraulics when we found out that Alex could work the brake
himself. That made things much easier."
The fact that the car, which is being built and
fielded by Mi-Jack Conquest Racing, with considerable help from
Derrick Walker's organization, is running on a superspeedway
makes the task a bit easier. The road-course wing package on the
car means that Zanardi can run comfortably at top speed nearly
all the way around the track.
Zanardi tested the car earlier this week prior to
the Brands Hatch event, and the hand controls were tested last
week in a private test at Indianapolis Raceway Park with 1991
Indy Lights champion Eric Bachelart at the wheel. The 15-time
Champ Car race winner will also be re-licensed as an official
series driver by Chief Steward Chris Kniefel.
Alison Hill
London Champ
Car Trophy Press Office
© 2003 by CART
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