Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory: A Memoir of Racing Success, Adversity, and Courage
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1966. He began racing karts in 1980 and made his Formula 1 debut eleven years later with Team Jordan. In 1996 he joined Ganassi Racing to compete in the CART Series and moved to the United States. He won consecutive CART championships in 1997 and 1998 before returning to Formula 1 in 1999 with Team Williams. In 2001 he rejoined the CART series with Mo Nunn Racing. On September 15, 2001 he lost his legs in a dramatic crash during a race at the Eurospeedway in Lausitz, Germany. In May, 2003, after 19 months of rehabilitation, Zanardi began his comeback by piloting a modified Champ car around the Eurospeedway to complete the "unfinished" laps of the tragic 2001 race. At Monza, Italy in October, 2003 he returned to competition in the European Touring Car Championship series, driving a specially modified BWM touring car. In 2004 he raced the full season of the ETCC for Team BMW Italy-Spain. He has also resumed two! of his favorite pastimes, swimming and skiing. Zanardi lives in Monaco with his wife Daniela and four year-old son, Niccolò. In response to the outpouring of support from the racing community and his fans since his crash, Zanardi has founded the Alex Zanardi Foundation to raise money for children's charities worldwide.