Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory: A Memoir of Racing Success, Adversity, and Courage

The racing world held its collective breath in 2001 when Alex Zanardi lost both his legs in a horrifying accident at the Lausitzring in Germany. The racing world again held its breath nineteen months later while witnessing his incredible return to racing. Bentley Publishers is thrilled to announce the publication of the North American edition of Alex Zanardi’s autobiography, which quickly sold over 50,000 copies in his native Italy. Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory recounts his incredible story as only Alex can tell it. He takes us from his childhood in Italy through his hard-fought racing success to the moving story of perseverance and love that motivated his recovery. Along the way, Zanardi presents his triumphs and setbacks in kart racing, Formula 3 & 3000, Formula 1, IndyCar and CART racing, culminating in back-to-back CART championships for 1997 and 1998. In riveting detail, Zanardi relates his terrible accident, the long path to recovery and his return to Lausitzring in a specially modified 750hp Champ Car to complete the 13 laps he didn’t finish in 2001. In addition to 32 pages of color photos, including many from the Zanardi family albums, Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory also includes the following new features: a foreword by Alex Zanardi’s friend and supporter Mario Andretti, a chronology of Alex’s racing career, and a new final chapter in which Alex discusses his return to competitive racing in the 2004 European Touring Car Championship driving for BMW Team Italy-Spain. Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory is an inspiring story of how personal strength and passion can triumph over even the most challenging circumstances.

Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1966. He began racing karts in 1980 and made his Formula 1 debut eleven years later with Team Jordan. In 1996 he joined Ganassi Racing to compete in the CART Series and moved to the United States. He won consecutive CART championships in 1997 and 1998 before returning to Formula 1 in 1999 with Team Williams. In 2001 he rejoined the CART series with Mo Nunn Racing. On September 15, 2001 he lost his legs in a dramatic crash during a race at the Eurospeedway in Lausitz, Germany. In May, 2003, after 19 months of rehabilitation, Zanardi began his comeback by piloting a modified Champ car around the Eurospeedway to complete the "unfinished" laps of the tragic 2001 race. At Monza, Italy in October, 2003 he returned to competition in the European Touring Car Championship series, driving a specially modified BWM touring car. In 2004 he raced the full season of the ETCC for Team BMW Italy-Spain. He has also resumed two! of his favorite pastimes, swimming and skiing. Zanardi lives in Monaco with his wife Daniela and four year-old son, Niccolò. In response to the outpouring of support from the racing community and his fans since his crash, Zanardi has founded the Alex Zanardi Foundation to raise money for children's charities worldwide.