Munich. The countdown is on: in one week’s time, Alessandro
Zanardi (ITA) will start his DTM adventure. The BMW works driver
will compete as a guest starter at the seventh round of the 2018 DTM
season at Misano (ITA). For Zanardi, it will be two firsts at once;
it will be his debut in the popular touring car series and he will
drive without his prosthetic legs for the first time. His modified
BMW M4 DTM is equipped with a hand-operated braking system. In an
interview, Zanardi speaks about his dream to race a DTM car, his
impressions of the BMW M4 DTM and his expectations for Misano.
Alessandro, Misano is coming closer – how much is the
excitement growing?
Alessandro Zanardi: “It is growing, but the races are still a few
days away. I think the excitement will really touch the roof when I
get to Misano, when I get to see the other cars, when I get to see the
other transporters, when I start to sniff the fumes, hear the noise.”
You’ve driven so many race cars – before your accident and
after the accident. Was it a dream to drive a DTM car?
Zanardi: “Yes, in my career I have been fortunate enough to drive
beautiful cars, especially in my days in the United States. The single
seaters were probably the best among the entire motorsports history I
think. We had 1,000 bhp under the bonnet and the balance between what
the car was capable of doing around the turns and the acceleration,
the top speed you could reach with it, was just fantastic. But I’ve
always looked at DTM like one of the things that down the road I want
to do in my racing career. I’ve always been very much intrigued by
that type of car that in my view looks really sexy and performs
incredibly well. So I’m finally having this opportunity and I’m very
glad and thankful to BMW for giving it to me.”
You completed a successful test at Vallelunga. What’s your
impression of the BMW M4 DTM?
Zanardi: “It is indeed a real race car. It’s made out of carbon
fibre; it is created to perform. The suspensions are racing ones, as
are the brakes, the engine is a race engine, the gearbox is incredibly
fast, it’s manufactured the way you would manufacture a Formula One
gearbox for instance. So everything is purely made for racing. And the
car does perform like it. Around the turns, the BMW M4 DTM is capable
of producing amazing speeds. You can brake basically in the blink of
an eye when you go from 300 km/h to taking a second gear corner and
the car re-accelerates out of it very rapidly as well. It’s an
impressive machine.”
With your arm, you need to apply 60 to 65 kilos on the
hand-operated brake lever to brake hard. This is no problem for you?
Zanardi: “I have to apply a pretty good pressure but evidently my
arms are strong enough to do that and to do it again the following
lap. And when you decelerate at those speeds actually the longitudinal
forces are helping you. They bring the weight of your body to lean on
the lever anyway, so it’s harder in the garage than it is actually
when you do it on the circuit. And my fitness condition, with what I
have been doing on my hand cycle in the past few years, does not hurt.
It definitely helps.”
What are your expectations for Misano?
Zanardi: “I know quite well what to expect for Misano. I know that
DTM these days is probably the most competitive field of motorsports,
no doubt about it. Formula One is not this competitive from a driver’s
perspective, because the competitiveness out of the car often dictates
the name of the game. In DTM, the level of the drivers is incredibly
high. The drivers are all good, there are no amateurs or drivers who
cannot push the car to the limit. But, on top, all cars performances
are really close and often you see the entire field being packed into
less than a second. And this of course suggests that for an old guy
like me, with the lack of experience I have, with my personal problem,
with my age, it will be very, very tough for me to collect a very good
result. I will try to get the best out of it, and for sure in any case
it will be a very enjoyable experience. The important thing is that I
walk away from Misano knowing that I have done my best, and knowing
that I did what my friends among the BMW Motorsport family know I can do.”
Alessandro Zanardi – Facts and figures.
Facts about Alessandro Zanardi.
Date of birth: 23rd October 1966
Place of birth: Bologna (IT)
Marital status: Married to Daniela, one son: Niccolo
Career in racing.
Main successes as para-athlete.