rec.autos.simulators

Maybe instead of shouting at each other, you should pray for Alex Zanardi
who has lost both of his legs. He will be in hospital for weeks and he is
still in a critical situation, but atleast it seems to get better:

"The chances are very good that he will make it. His condition is critical,
but it is not life threatening," said Gert Schroeter, part of a team of
physicians that are treating the 34-year-old.

That was good news for family, friends, drivers and CART officials holding a
vigil for the two-time CART champion at the Berlin Trauma Center. Zanardi
was airlifted there for treatment after his crash Saturday at the American
Memorial 500.

"Given the severity of the crash, it's gone as well as we could have hoped
for. Everybody's smiling and talking now," Honda spokesman Dan Layton said.

Doctors will attempt to take Zanardi off an "induced coma" designed to
reduce the chances that trauma shock would lead to kidney or heart failure
within 12 to 24 hours, Schroeter said.

He also will undergo a routine "second look" operation on Monday to check
for fragments and infection.

Michael Heymanns
www.srg-group.de

It was a pretty shocking news.  I mean, crashes happen all the time at every
track, but I think nobody would even imagine that he would need to have his
legs amputated.  If something, it must one of the worst incident a living
person with a passion for motorsport can have.  Kinda like Frank Williams.
To not be able to transport yourself freely, in a environment where going
somewhere as fast as possible is all everybody wants to achieve.

I just hope Zanardi can continue to help the sport in the future (Team
owner? Driver trainee? etc...)

--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
-- May the Downforce be with you...
-- http://www.ymenard.com/
-- This announcement is brought to you by the Shimato Dominguez
Corporation - helping America into the New World...

Agreed!!

| It was a pretty shocking news.  I mean, crashes happen all the time at
every
| track, but I think nobody would even imagine that he would need to have
his
| legs amputated.  If something, it must one of the worst incident a living
| person with a passion for motorsport can have.  Kinda like Frank Williams.
| To not be able to transport yourself freely, in a environment where going
| somewhere as fast as possible is all everybody wants to achieve.
|
| I just hope Zanardi can continue to help the sport in the future (Team
| owner? Driver trainee? etc...)
|
| --
| -- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
| -- May the Downforce be with you...
| -- http://www.ymenard.com/
| -- This announcement is brought to you by the Shimato Dominguez
| Corporation - helping America into the New World...

---
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Don't write Zanardi of from active racing just yet......
Danish driver Jason Watt broke his back in a motorcycle accident a few years
ago and lost
all feeling from his waist down.
He was rumoured to be ready for a testdrive for Benneton F1 at the time
after winning the F3000 championship, but
that of course never happended :(

What did happen instead was that he got a special modified car entered in
the danish touringcar championship where he operates gas/brake on the
wheel... he is in the joint lead of that series with 2 races to go.
Talent cannot be held down ;)
http://www.watt.dk/images/galleri/dtc_42.htm &
http://www.watt.dk/images/galleri/dtc_24.htm shows Jason on the podium in
his wheelchair.

He also have driven the for the danish Panoz team at Magny Cours and was
even
going to participate in Le Mans, but got substituted with another danish
driver in the end.
http://www.watt.dk/images/galleri/panoz_test_02.htm
shows Jason in the Panoz with a strap holding his legs together.

I'm not saying it will be easy for Zanardi, but a serious racing career IS a
possibility even without the use of ones legs !
Life in the fast lane does not have to be a closed chapter in Zanardi's
book.

In any case I doubt Zanardi will be thinking along those lines for a long
time... I wish him a good recovery and all the best for the hard times to
come.

Mikkel