149 replies to this topic

[Indian Chief]

From Autosport.com
STOP PRESS: Zanardi and Tagliani involved in massive accident

Fears for safety of both drivers in 180mph collision


The inaugural Champ Car oval race in Europe will end under yellow flags after a massive accident befell Alex Zanardi and Alex Tagliani with just a dozen laps remaining.

Zanardi, who had led the race before a splash 'n' dash pit stop, spun in the middle of Turn 1. Stranded in the middle of the circuit, he was then struck in the side by Tagliani's car at unabated speed.

The nose section of Zanardi's car was torn off, while Tagliani's car continued through the debris and hit the wall on the exit of the turn.

Both drivers have been removed from their cars.

Kenny Brack looks set to win the race, ahead of Max Papis and Patrick Carpentier.

Let's hope nobody is hurt.

[schumigal]

I hope both of them are okay!

[Nira]

It did not look good. Tag is supposedly ok but no news on Zanardi.

PS I guess someone will be PO by the title since the race is not live in the US. Might want to edit.

[confucius]

Serious injuries apparently....prayers to Alex and his family

[The Swerve]

From another BB:

CART Medican Director Dr Steve Olvey: "Alex Zanardi is extremely critical. He has severe injuries to both of his lower extremities. He had significant blood loss, but he is responding and breathing on his own. Alex Tagliani is awake and alert. He's moving everything. He has only back pain. We think he may have a minor injury to the small of his back. Otherwise he is OK."

[The Swerve]

What a bloody awful week this has turned out to be.

[tim]

Originally posted by The Swerve
From another BB:

CART Medican Director Dr Steve Olvey: "Alex Zanardi is extremely critical. He has severe injuries to both of his lower extremities. He had significant blood loss, but he is responding and breathing on his own. Alex Tagliani is awake and alert. He's moving everything. He has only back pain. We think he may have a minor injury to the small of his back. Otherwise he is OK."

I do hope he's going to be okay. At least he is breathing. What do they mean by "lower extremities"? His feet?

[AlesiGOD]

[The Swerve]

Originally posted by tim


I do hope he's going to be okay. At least he is breathing. What do they mean by "lower extremities"? His feet?

I would guess so.

[schumigal]

Sounds serious!!! I really hope Alex is okay. Incident filled year. Not a good year definitely!

[Nasty McBastard]

its just plain ****ed......

if..somehow.. you can forget everythign else this week...

alex z fianaly gets to a track where things are swinging his way... hes quick all weekend, but due to rain he starts in 22nd, he works his way up thought the field and is running top 5 most of the last half of the race, and then this.....

sometimes i seriously wonder why my chosen sport is motorsport.....

[The Swerve]

Yep, Alex was really liking the track in practice....

Alex Zanardi (P2): "I love this circuit. It's fantastic, beautiful...it's a little scary too, because there's a point of every corner, because of the radius, where you are facing the wall head-on. It's a lot of fun, a circuit where you can really take the car to the limit. You can push the car a lot more than on a superspeedway. It reminds me of a really fast corner on a road course."

[cosmoK]

Glad to hear Tagliani's ok, praying hard for Zanardi. What a nightmare this week has been.

[Viktor]

Motorsport news on Eurosport now, maybe somthing about Zanardi.

/Viktor

[Dennis David]

... Just as he seemed to find himself.

[Breadmaster]

I've just seen footage of the crash on Eurosport.
Horrible
Zanardi spun off infield then came back onto the track very slowly, Tagliani T-Boned him at very high speed tearing off his left front wheel. Zanardi's car was destroyed and literally ripped in two by the collision.
They got Alex away to Hospital very quickly. I hope he's ok.

My thoughts are with him and his family.

[nigel red5]

I`ve just seen the same news item on Eurosport......

Oh shit. It looked terrible. The chassis was split in two at the point where Alex`s upper half of his legs would be when seated in the car.

I pray to God that he lives.....

[Jhope]

i don't know if this is good news, but....

itv reports that:

ChampCar Doctor Steve Olvey said Zanardi was in an "extremely critical condition, with injuries to both lower extremities and severe loss of blood."
Olvey said Zanardi was breathing on his own and responding to commands. Tagliani was reported be "awake and alert"

[tim]

From Atlas news:

Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya, former CART champion, said the Italian driver was badly injured.

"His legs are badly injured but he is conscious," Montoya told Atlas F1. "I understand that he is currently in critical condition and I'm waiting for more updates."

Nice to see that JPM is concerned about Alex's condition...

[Jhope]

Alex Zanardi:
Alex Tagliani:
JP Montoya:

[Ronna]

[JPMCrew]

This has been just a terrible week and I hope we can end it on a positive note. I'm praying for Alessandro

[MPea3]

Originally posted by tim


I do hope he's going to be okay. At least he is breathing. What do they mean by "lower extremities"? His feet?

i would think legs.

[gerry nassar]

More horrible news Pray that Alex will survive this.

As most have mentioned - what a horrible week it has been. Its nice to see JPM so concerned about Zanardi - especially so soon after bagging pole.

[schumigal]

Originally posted by tim
From Atlas news:



Nice to see that JPM is concerned about Alex's condition...

It's not that suprising actually. COnsidering JPM was from carts himself.

[A3]

[Paste]

Hope he's alright. You hate to see this happen to anyone, but especially a really, really nice guy like Alex.

[clickhappy]

So, Zinardi spun on cold tires, in front of Tag, and then Tag hit him? Haven't seen any video yet in the states...

[nigel red5]

Clickhappy,
Zanardi spun, whilst giving it some coming out of the pits.... He spun across the w-up lane and the grass, and the car was stopping as it arrived onto the racing line of the track itself.
One car just missed AZ by inches...
The next car along was Tagliani. Zanardi at the time was sitting at a 90 degree angle to the traffic.

Tagliani`s car came past at full racing speed, and wiped out the front of the car (it split in two)

Think of Matsushita/Villeneuve @ Phoenix in `94..... Only, the contact was a bit further forward on Zanardi`s car, and the speed of the oncoming car (Tags) was much higher.

[Rene]

Im glad that I didn't see that accident....lets hope Zanardi survives!!!

[Spunout]

Let´s hope the worst will not happen. Despite of his F1 career being somewhat unsuccesful I have always liked him as a person (even though I would not hope this for any driver). Haven´t seen any video yet but the pic posted here along with reports suggest the injuries in his legs are extremely severe. About his other injuries I don´t know. I hope he will survive and be able to walk in the future.

[HP]

Let's pray his kidneys are strong enough. Broken legs, and loss of blood has often caused kidney failures.

[padovani]

Awful.

[Chewbacca]

Exactly the news I wanted to hear today.

Godspeed Alex.

[A3]

Avi from ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/m..._010915az1v.avi

[Nasty McBastard]

its one of those things you probably wish you hadny actually seen....

[karlth]

Good luck Alice.

You are still my favourite driver.

[FordPrefect]

that's terrible news

[senninha]

Good luck and be strong, Alex.

[karlth]

Originally posted by A3
Avi from ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/m..._010915az1v.avi

This is the worst crash I have ever seen.

[G_Walter]

from Autosport...I feel sick:(

"...At the last official update, Zanardi was reported to be breathing and responding to direction, though unconfirmed but reliable reports state that he has lost both of his legs."

This is so horrible....Alex has long been one of my favorite drivers. Whatever you think of him as a driver though, he is undoubtably one of warmest and best persons in the sport. I just hope he will be ok...

[senninha]

"UPDATE:Alex Zanardi has suffered the loss of both legs, one above the knee and one below the knee. At the time of this update (7:14 p.m. local), Zanardi was entering surgery in Berlin. The surgery is expected to take 5 hours. Zanardi was in stable condition upon entering surgery.
Alex Tagliani had undergone a CAT scan and was cleared.He is remaining under observation for 24-48 hours. "

seventhgear.com

[A3]

Oh my god......

[Paste]

Oh my goodness.. Absolutely horrible for Alex. :(

[Nasty McBastard]

this is just plain ****ed.... christ... what a week

[Chewbacca]

Truly sad.

Atleast we can be thankful that he's still alive after that horrible crash. He has a young daughter doesn't he?

[paulb]

Horrible.

The important thing is that Alex is alive and it seems like he is gonna make it OK.

[Boston Killer]

Poor guy...
I have said that already but still : this is the worst year that I have withnessed.

I will pray for Alessabdro and his family tonight...

[mp4]

Thankfully, I didn't see the accident. I absolutely love auto racing and when anyone gets hurt, it gives cause to pause. No one wants to see a driver or, for that matter, anyone associated with a race weekend get hurt.
I hope Alex will be OK.

[A3]

Originally posted by Wolbo
According to his website www.alexander-zanardi.com he has a son called Niccolò.

You mean http://www.alex-zanardi.com/ ?