Return To CART and Lausitzring Crash
In the 2000 season Zanardi was not signed for a team, but was interested in a CART comeback. He tested for Mo Nunn and opted to sign to the team for 2001, however he was not successful for the most part.
In his most competitive race of 2001, he suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on September 15. Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals. The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps. After a late pit stop, Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier was able to avoid him, but Alex Tagliani, who was just behind Carpentier at the time, could not and Zanardi's car was impacted from the side, behind the front wheel, severing the nose of the car. Zanardi lost both legs (one at and one above the knee) in the impact and nearly three-quarters of his blood volume, though rapid medical intervention saved his life. Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds. This was the end of his open-wheel racing career.
Read more about this topic: Alex Zanardi
Famous quotes containing the words return to, return, cart and/or crash:
“We draw our Presidents from the people. It is a wholesome thing for them to return to the people. I came from them. I wish to be one of them again.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 17:17,18.
Jesus, after healing ten lepers.
“When the boat comes to the bridge, it will go through; when the cart gets to the mountains, there will be a way to get over them.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Crash on crash of the sea,
straining to wreck men, sea-boards, continents,
raging against the world, furious.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)