Former karter, CART Indycar champion and all-round popular racer Alex Zanardi has died.
Zanardi started karting in Italy as a teenager, winning Italian and European karting championships before moving to F3 and eventually Formula 1.
In his karting days, Alessandro raced karts in Australia multiple times, including victory in the famous Castrol Kart Prix at Oran Park in 1986 with the factory DAP team (see video, below).
Despite losing his lower legs in a 2001 crash, Zanardi demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability to switch careers, becoming a Paralympic champion in hand-cycling, winning gold in 2012 and 2016.
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He also had the business of Zanardi Kart, which were a popular and effective chassis of the time, initially manufactured by CRG. Nyck de Vries won the CIK-FIA Karting World Championship in 2010 and 2011 on Zanardi chassis.
Sadly, a hand-cycling crash in 2020 resulted in head injuries from which Alex never fully recovered.
Rest In Peace Alessandro “Alex” Zanardi, 26/10/1966 – 1/8/2026. A true legend.
- EDIT: Read the Vroom tribute HERE
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