Geoffrey Harris•9 Nov 2012

NEWS

MOTORSPORT: Zanardi still BMW's golden boy

BMW has adapted one of its all-conquering DTM M3s and painted it gold for Alex Zanardi and let him loose on the Nurburgring, as reward for his London Paralympics success.

German manufacturer salutes ‘a great role model’

Alex Zanardi, one of motor racing’s most popular figures and perhaps its most inspirational, has been given a special treat as part of BMW’s celebrations of the 40th anniversary of its motorsport division.

The German manufacturer adapted one of the M3s with which it recently won the DTM – the German touring car championship – in its first season back in the series for Italian Zanardi to drive at Nurburgring.

The car was painted gold for 46-year-old Zanardi, the man with prosthetic legs after a horror Champ Car crash more than a decade ago and who later won World Touring Car Championship races for BMW and recently claimed two gold medals and a silver in paracycling at the London Olympics.

Zanardi had been at Hockenheim last month, circulating that track on his handbike with his medals around his neck when Canadian driver Bruno Spengler won the DTM for BMW.

Yesterday Zanardi was “overwhelmed” that one of the DTM M3s had been adapted and given the golden livery for him.

“This is a very special day for me,” Zanardi said after driving 32 laps of the modern Ring.

BMW’s engineers and technicians had removed the accelerator and clutch pedals and shifted the brake pedal to the right so Zanardi could brake using his prosthetic right leg. They also modified the steering wheel so that he could accelerate with his left hand, while they had a shift paddle that he pushed and pulled to change gear.

“I am surprised just how quickly the BMW Motorsport engineers completed the modifications," Zanardi said. “I had great fun out on the track.”

The peak of Zanardi’s racing career was when he won two CART titles in North America with Chip Ganassi’s team in the late 1990s. He had stints in Formula One before and after that but his talent didn’t translate into the same success.

After the Champ Car crash at Germany’s Lausitzring in 2001 his legs had to be amputated. He designed and built his prosthetic legs and a couple of years later returned as a BMW touring car driver until 2009.

Since then he has won worldwide admiration for his cycling, even competing in the New York Marathon on his handbike.

As much as he enjoyed his outing in the M3, Zanardi could not envisage racing one as he nears 50.

“I still have a passion for racing, but the level in the DTM may possibly prove to be too high for someone of my age,” he said.

BMW motorsport director Jens Marquardt lauded Zanardi as “a great role model”.

“Despite his handicap he approaches every challenge with great optimism and passes every test with flying colours,” Marquardt said.

Switch flicked off on F1 electricity

The introduction of a rule to require Formula One cars to run on electric power only in the pitlane from 2014 is to be postponed for at least three years.

The governing Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has been wanting to showcase electric power in F1 as part of its emphasis on more environmentally-friendly technology.

However, F1 engine manufacturers Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes recently asked the FIA to delay the introduction of the pitlane rule on the grounds of costs and safety, saying that cars speeding without engine noise would be dangerous to crews working in the pitlane.

While the delay will need to be formally ratified by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, FIA president Jean Todt has said: “I have accepted to delay it ... for around three years.”

A lot on the line in Spain

No F1 or V8 Supercars this weekend, but it could be a defining moment for Australian motorsport – in Spain.

Casey Stoner will bring down the curtain on an illustrious MotoGP career that has included two world titles.

While Australia awaits its next international two-wheel superstar, it seems that Stoner is headed to V8 Supercars – probably part-time in the development series next year and, depending on how that goes, perhaps the “main game” in 2014. He has increasingly been sighted at V8 Supercar races and in the Triple Eight garage.

At last weekend’s Abu Dhabi round Stoner even got into a Twitter “war of words” with Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom, who has often come under fire from Triple Eight boss Roland Dane.

As Stoner rides into retirement at Valencia this weekend, two Australian rally drivers will be competing nearby hoping for results to secure worthy drives next year.

The final round of the World Rally Championship had a ceremonial start in Barcelona last night and today gets serious at Salou, a seaside resort between there and Valencia.

It is the only dual-surface event in the championship – gravel on the first leg, then two days on tarmac.

Chris Atkinson will have his fifth and final outing in the MINI run by a Portuguese team but prepared in Italy. As at Rally France he will have Australian Glenn Macneall as his co-driver rather than his regular Belgian partner Stephane Prevot, who already had a commitment with a historic Porsche driver.

Atkinson won this year’s Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in a Skoda and a big result in Spain, on or close to the podium, could go a long way to securing him a full-time return to the WRC – something he hasn’t had since Subaru folded its factory team in 2008.

Victorian youngster Brendan Reeves is aiming to clinch second place in the WRC Academy, the one-make (Ford Fiesta R2) series for drivers under 24.

Welsh driver Elfyn Evans has already won the Academy, while Spaniard Jose Suarez is only two points behind second-placed Reeves. Beating Suarez on his home soil would boost Reeves’ chances of securing an international drive again next year, while he and co-driver Rhiannon Smyth could become the highest placed brother and sister in any WRC series in history.

Targa field heads for the hills

The second round of the Australian Targa Championship is on this weekend too in Victoria’s High Country.

There are 150 cars entered for Targa High Country in the state’s north-east.

Tasmanian Jason White and his co-driver uncle John are favourites as usual in their $600,000 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo in which they are shooting for a sixth straight targa success.

Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillett were a late entry in their Nissan GT-R after Quinn’s fifth Targa New Zealand victory a fortnight ago.

“We’ll be racing for second place though as the Lamborghini is far and away the best car in the field,” Quinn said.

Other likely frontrunners are Matt and Casey Close in a 2010 Audi TT RS and South Australian son-father combination Matt and Dennis Sims in a 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec-V and legendary Jim Richards and Barry Oliver, now in a two-wheel drive 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

And watch out for the WRX-driving team of Anthony and Toni Rizzo, who married after flipping their Suby in Targa Tasmania last year. Targa High Country is their first motorsport outing since becoming parents.

The event begins with a street stage at Mansfield late this afternoon, with eight stages tomorrow – starting downhill on Mt Buller, then up and over Tolmie and Whitlands to Whitfield, then retracing those stages in the afternoon after a break at Lake William Hovell. Sunday’s route is to and from Eildon over eight stages before the finish on Mt Buller.

The four-round Targa series, with the first event in Adelaide and two in Tasmania, is now claimed to be Australia’s largest national motorsport championship with V8 Supercars having become international.

The final round of the more traditional Australian Rally Championship is next weekend in the Warragul-Drouin area of Victoria’s Gippsland, clashing with the V8 Supercar round at Winton in the same state.

While new two-wheel-drive ARC champion Eli Evans’ Honda Jazz and multiple national champion brother Simon Evans’ new Mazda 2 will clash in their “backyard”, last year’s ARC champion Justin Dowel will debut the 2WD Volkswagen Polo in which he will return full-time next season.

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MOTORSPORT: Zanardi still BMW's golden boy

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