Hero: Alex Zanardi to race the 24 Hours of Spa with BMW

Not sure there are any superlatives left to describe what Alessandro Zanardi has accomplished in his "second" life, without a doubt he is one of the world's most inspiring sportsmen.

Adding to his list of accomplishments Zanardi, a BMW Brand ambassador, will race in the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa later this year.
Zanardi, 48,  will be the only disabled driver in the works Z4 GT3  and BMW Motorsport  has the challenge to adapt the car's controls while, at the same time,  allow for driver changes to be possible in a competitive amount of time.

"If you first look at it, it seems impossible that a guy with no legs like me lines up together with ‘normal’ drivers in such a highly competitive, tough and prestigious event."  Said Zanardi  "But I know that my friends at BMW Motorsport have all the technical expertise and innovative ideas to master this challenge."

BMW Motorsport boss Jens Marquardt added: "For sure, it is not an easy task to develop the modifications which are required when Alex shares the cockpit with other drivers. But is a great challenge for our engineers at BMW Motorsport which we face with a lot of enthusiasm. We can’t wait to see Alex lining up on the grid of this prestigious race in our BMW Z4 GT3."

The 24 Hours of Spa takes place the 25-26 of July and, just in case you think you have a busy sporting schedule consider that, after the Belgian classic, Zanardi will compete in the Para Cycling World Championship in August before heading to Hawaii in October for his second Ironman World Championship triathlon.

Legend.