By: RACER Staff August 7, 2018 11:58 AM Alex Zanardi has been racing BMW race cars since 2003, but this month’s drive at the DTM race weekend in Misano will mark something new: For the first time ever, he will race without his prosthetic legs.

Here’s how Zanardi explained the rationale for racing without the prosthetic:“Cool! I took off, I looked down and.. Boy! Didn’t I forgot something?!? 4 the 1st time I’ll use my hand to push the brake and not my leg, which will stay in the garage.. Anyhow, with the BMW M4 DTM, I regain all the sensations from my singleseater days!”To prepare, the 51-year-old is at Vallelunga today and tomorrow for a series of intensive tests with the modified BMW M4 DTM. Zanardi is adjusting to several modifications in the cockpit which will allow him to push the DTM car to its limit without using his prostheses.BMW Motorsport engineers have developed many technical innovations for his start in the DTM and at the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona, including a hand-operated braking system for the first time. Here are some of the changes:

Hand-operated brake systemZarnardi will have a newly developed hand-operated brake system at his disposal for the first time. This replaces the combination of brake pedal with a permanently attached artificial leg, which Zanardi has used to brake on his previous outings in BMW race cars. The advantage of this new system is that it requires less effort and is thus far easier to operate.


The brake lever is located to the driver’s right, in the center console area. The brake lines have been extended and laid from the footwell to this lever. As a result, the pedal box, with the throttle, brake and clutch pedals, is no longer necessary. The footwell in Zanardi’s BMW M4 DTM is empty. The large brake cylinder has been adjusted slightly, meaning Zanardi need not apply quite as much pressure by hand as a regular DTM driver must with his foot to achieve the required braking effect. Where a regular driver must apply 100 to 120 kilograms of pressure (220 to 260 pounds), a maximum 70 kilograms (154 pounds) is sufficient for Zanardi. As well as the size of the brake cylinder, the improved leverage of the handbrake lever also makes the whole braking procedure easier.

By: RACER Staff August 27, 2018 9:20 AM “It feels like a gold medal.”When Alex Zanardi was told he crossed the finish line in fifth place in the second of two DTM guest drives this weekend at Misano, he swore it was a joke.“This the best joke of the weekend… Come on, you’re kidding me. I am an old man, you cannot tease me this way!” he radioed back to his crew.“At first I thought it was a joke when my engineer told me my position over the radio,” he admitted after getting out of the car.“I did not expect that. And it is also too much when you look at my performance from a neutral point of view. I was very optimistic after my tests, but after the first session, in which I was a distant last, I feared that my fate this weekend may be to drive around well off the back of the field.“The problem was that the ever-changing conditions did not allow me to continuously build on my experience from session to session. Every time I took to the track, everything was different to the previous time. With that in mind, fifth place, together with good, competitive lap times, is obviously fantastic. It feels like a gold medal.”The 51-year-old qualified his specially adapted BMW M4 19th for Sunday’s race after finishing 13th Saturday in DTM’s first-ever night race. For the first time since he began racing BMW cars in 2003, he raced without his prosthetic legs.

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Zanardi tests modified BMW M4 ahead of DTM race

“[Doing so much with my hands in the car] was quite acrobatic really,” he said. “However, I don’t have any alternative these days, so I adapted to it quickly. Once you have accepted the task, some things are not actually as difficult as you initially imagined they may be.“I worked meticulously with the engineers in Munich to find the best possible solution for me, and I think we came up with an outstanding system.”BMW Motorsport engineers developed several technical innovations for Zanardi, who is set to race in the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona, including a hand-operated braking system for the first time.“We have taken a huge step forward and established an excellent basis for my planned start at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019,” he said.“I believe that if I was to face the challenge of driving 24 hours in a row, I could do it with this system – from a purely physical perspective. I am sure I would not exactly be as fresh as a daisy afterwards, but it would be possible. Thank you to everyone involved for their interest and ambition to make me an even better racing driver. I can’t wait to continue preparations for Daytona.” Perhaps best of all was being able to achieve the result in front of a welcoming Italian crowd.“Let’s put it this way,” he began. “I believe I have been involved in a fair few romantic stories in my life, which ultimately had the happy ending that people hoped for. I have managed a few things that people perhaps did not believe I was capable of physically. On a day like this, you stand in front of the mirror in the evening and remember everything you have experienced over the many years. “It is magic to know that so many people identify to such a degree with what I do. It makes me incredibly proud.”

Listen as Zanardi’s BMW crew gives him his result (audio begins at 1:06:53):

By: Alison Sneag November 9, 2018 10:20 AM Alex Zanardi has completed his first test in the BMW M8 GTE as he prepares for the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona.Zanardi has been racing BMW cars since 2003, but earlier this year – and essentially by accident – he began driving without his prosthetic legs. BMW M Motorsport has made extensive modifications to Zanardi’s cockpit, including a hand-operated braking system for the first time. Using the same modified in-car system, the 52-year-drove a BMW M4 to an emotional fifth-place finish in a August DTM race in Misano. https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...g?w=1000&h=667Zanardi drove over 400 miles this week over three days at Miramas in southern France. Despite some rain, Zanardi was able to familiarize himself with the M8 GTE while BMW M Motorsport evaluated how the specially modified car was functioning.Related

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Zanardi tests modified BMW M4 ahead of DTM race

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“I think I made huge progress during this test,” Zanardi said. “Particularly when you consider that the conditions were very tough. Miramas is not an easy circuit anyway, and then we had the rain to deal with too. It was a challenge getting to know the car in these conditions, and at the same time finding out what I need to do when whilst driving.“However, it was a very productive test. My feel for the car improved all the time and I soon found out what I need to be doing with my hands and how I can control the car’s various electronic functions. We are now very well prepared for the next test at Daytona. I have to say, the BMW M8 GTE is a real beauty. It was a privilege for me to take it out onto the track and drive it for so many laps.”Braking is performed using a lever, which he operates with his right arm. The special steering wheel allows Zanardi to accelerate using a gas ring and to change gear using shift paddles. The gas mechanism at the steering wheel, proven in DTM, has been adapted to the much more complex steering wheel in the BMW M8 GTE. The brake lever also has a button, with which Zanardi can shift down through the gears when braking into corners. Based on the knowledge gained at Misano, the system has been optimized for the BMW M8 GTE.Another part of the test included practicing a driver change, as Zanardi will share the M8 with other drivers at Daytona. Zanardi practiced the procedures with BMW works driver and Rahal Letterman Lanigan IMSA driver Jesse Krohn (below). https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...di4.jpg?w=1000“It is impressive what we achieved,” he said. “You have to bear in mind that, as well as the usual driver changeover, we must also swap the steering wheel. We consistently achieved that in under 20 seconds, and a few times we even managed the changeover in about 15 seconds.“When you observe how quickly a ‘normal’ driver like Jesse jumps out of the car, it is a bit different when you then see somebody like me getting out. Undo the harness, remove the steering wheel, pass it to somebody and jump out of the car – all in less than three seconds. Then turn around, wait until Jesse is in, climb back into the car, hook my leg into the frame, help Jesse with the radio and harness, pass him the other steering wheel, close the net and get away from the car…It is really impressive and looks a bit like a dance. We will now continue to work on perfecting the driver changeover.”The 24-hour endurance race will mark Zanardi’s first competitive race in the U.S. since the CART race on August 19, 2001 at Road America, a month before he lost both his legs at the Lausitzring. BMW M Motorsport is working with the FIA, ACO and IMSA to gain approval for a car adapted to Zanardi’s needs for GTE races.