A near fatal crash in the 2001 American Memorial at Euro Speedway Lausitz in Germany would have ended the career of a mere mortal.
Alex Zanardi is no mere mortal.
After clawing his way from 22nd to lead on Lap 124 of the 154-lap race, Zanardi spun exiting the pits on Lap 142. He was collected by Alex Tagliani. As a result of the accident, he lost both legs. In just three years, Zanardi was back behind the wheel of a race car full-time, piloting specially fitted touring cars.
In 2019, Zanardi will face one of his biggest challenges since his fateful accident: He will compete in a specially adapted M8 GTE along with Jesse Krohn, John Edwards and Chaz Mostert in the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona.
Earlier this month, Zanardi climbed behind the wheel of his BMW and took some laps around the track.
Ride along with the video above.
A.Z. is badass. True inspiration and legend. Cant wait to have him at the @Rolex24Hours ... #donutmaster https://t.co/FtPtiYDviN
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) December 21, 2018