The Month of May has gotten off to a very somber start. We are now mourning two racing legends who never once drove in the Indianapolis 500. Last week we were mourning the loss of Merle Bettenhausen. Over the weekend, we were saddened to learn that the motorsports world had lost Alex Zanardi at the age of 59.
Zanardi was a Formula One veteran from the early 90s, who was relegated to some of the smaller teams. For the 1996 season, the first year of The Split in IndyCar, he was signed to Chip Ganassi Racing in CART – to drive alongside teammate Jimmy Vasser, who would become a lifelong friend. Vasser would go on to win the CART Championship that year, but Zanardi figured things out quickly and won his first race by mid-season at Portland. Over the second half of that season, Zanardi won three races and scored three more podiums. He tied Michael Andretti for second in the CART championship. Perhaps his most famous moment from his time with Ganassi was The Pass, when he passed a surprised Bryan Herta in the famous corkscrew at Laguna Seca in 1996, to win the last race of the season.
That set the stage for the next two seasons, which saw Zanardi win five races in 1997 and seven races in 1998 – both championship seasons for the Italian driver. It seemed when Zanardi wasn’t winning races, he was appearing on the podium. Fans today compare Alex Palou’s domination to Zanardi’s in the late 90s. Like Palou, fans grew tired of watching Zanardi win all of the time, but they couldn’t help but like the driver and the person he was.
With all of the success he was enjoying in CART, he yearned to get back to chasing his original goal – a Formula One World Driving Championship. He got that chance when he signed with the most successful F1 team of the 90s – Williams, for the 1999 F1 season.
On the surface, it appeared Zanardi’s ship had come in. But a closer look revealed that even though they were just one year removed from CART refugee Jacques Villenueve winning the 1997 F1 championship – Williams was a team in a steep decline. Zanardi scored zero points that season; a victim of a very unreliable car, some unimaginable bad luck and a few unforced errors. He was used as a scapegoat for a very disappointing car and season and was released at the end of his first year with Williams. Villeneuve’s 1997 championship is still the last for Williams, almost thirty years later.
Zanardi had no ride anywhere in 2000, but he was interested in returning to CART. By this time Mo Nunn, who had worked with Zanardi at Ganassi, had started his own team. I never fully understood why he didn’t just go back with Ganassi. His replacement at Ganassi, Juan Montoya, had won a championship and an Indianapolis 500, before moving on to a somewhat improved Williams team – chasing his own F1 dreams. Perhaps it was because his friend Jimmy Vasser had moved on after 2000. Whatever the case, Ganassi curiously opted for two unknowns – Nick Minassian and Bruno Junqueira – for the 2001 season.
Mo Nunn Racing was in its second year of existence. They were not the juggernaut that Ganassi was in the late 90s. In fourteen races, Zanardi had only three Top-Ten finishes, and no podiums. At the Lausitzring in Germany, Zanardi pitted on Lap 142, and spun leaving the pits and his car slowly backed onto the racing surface. Alex Tagliani T-boned Zanardi’s car at over 200 mph, splitting Zanadi’s car into and severing both of his legs.
If not for the actions of Dr. Terry Trammel, Zanardi would have bled to death still in what was left of his cockpit. He was clinging to life in a German hospital, but eventually survived, with both legs amputated.
It would be perfectly normal for anyone in that situation to spend the rest of their life feeling sorry for themselves and asking “why me?”. But Alex Zanardi accepted his situation as a new challenge. Two years after his accident, he drove an Indy car specially fitted with hand controls and drove the remaining thirteen laps that he could not complete two years earlier, in front of an emotional crowd at the Lausitzring. These weren’t just ceremonial laps. One of his lap times that day would have put him in the third row of that race.
Zanardi would go on to drive European Touring Cars, winning races in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, all in a specially fitted cars to accommodate his prosthetic legs. Zanardi drove in many different series over the next few years, and even drove in the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing 32nd overall and 9th in the GTLM category.
It didn’t stop there. Zanardi took up handcycling and finished fourth in the New York City Marathon in the handcycling division. He won a gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. He competed in the Ironman World Championship in 2014, finishing 19th out of 247 in his division. At the 2016 Paralympic games in Rio, Zanardi won two gold medals and a silver medal.
Unfortunately, it was a handcycling accident that ultimately led to Zanardi’s death. On June 19, 2020; was competing in an Italian national road race for paralympic athletes, when he was hit by a truck head-on. Aside from a multitude of external injuries, he suffered severe brain injuries. After regaining some consciousness and nonverbally responding to commands, Zanardi was able to return home eighteen months after the accident.
From there, updates became sporadic and then non-existent. Ironically, this past Friday I had lunch with a racing friend of mine here in Nashville. We discussed the Zanardi crash in Germany and his subsequent hand cycling accident six years ago. We both commented on how neither of us had heard anything regarding Zanardi’s condition and that was probably not a good sign. The next morning, I woke to the news that Zanardi had passed away.
The term “inspirational” is tossed around way too often to describe someone overcoming adversity. Many times, all the person did was survive a bad situation and not collapse; but the never took steps to thrive, even though every aspect of their life had changed. In the case of Alex Zanardi, he was truly inspirational. His life changed forever in the blink of an eye, in ways that most of us cannot even imagine. As soon as his body was physically able, he embraced his new situation with the same passion that took him to two CART championships.
Not only did he completely re-adjust his goals for life, he maintained a spirit and sense of humor that almost defied logic. Not only did he successfully reassume his racing career to the point that he was winning races against fully able-bodied drivers. But while doing that, he took on an even tougher physical challenge – winning gold medals in handcycling events at a world level.
Alex Zanardi accomplished so much in his life prior to his 2001 near-fatal accident. He had a beautiful wife and family that supported him as he won two racing championships and pursued his dreams of Formula One. After the life-changing accident that saw him lose both legs, his family continued to support him as he successfully returned to racing, while also pursuing his new passion with great spirit and finding great success at something so physically demanding. The way he courageously faced the resulting injuries of his accident was truly inspirational. I’m sorry we never got to see him race in the Indianapolis 500. I think he would have been fun to watch.
As the tributes rolled in on Saturday morning, I saw a tweet by Marshall Pruett with a photo of himself, Ganassi’s Mike Hull and Jimmy Vasser surrounding Zanardi at Daytona in 2019. I don’t think anyone said it better.
Most of us can only hope to lead a life as full and rewarding as Alex Zanardi did. Without knowing many details of his last six years, I am sure he suffered greatly. We can now take solace in the fact that his suffering is now over. Rest in peace, Mr. Zanardi. You’ve earned it.
George Phillips
