Alex Zanardi gets behind the wheel Former Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi will return to competitive racing nearly 13 years after losing both his legs in a CART series accident in Germany. Zanardi with the GT3-spec Z4 he will race this year. FORMER Formula 1 and CART racer Alex Zanardi is returning to motorsport as a BMW factory driver. The 47-year-old Italian, who lost both legs following a crash in 2001, will take part in the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series, racing a BMW Z4 GT3 for the ROAL Motorsport outfit. Zanardi, who won two gold medals in hand bike racing at the 2012 London Paralympics, raced with the same team, formerly Ravaglia Motorsport, in the European Touring Car Championship in 2004 and the world championship between 2005 and 2009. Zanardi said he had been motivated to return to motorsport after testing the BMW M3 DTM in 2012 and was eagerly looking forward to "a new adventure." "In my heart even after leaving in 2009 I have always remained a racing driver," he said. He will take part in six of seven weekends in the sprint series from April to November in a specially-adapted car using only hand controls. BMW motorsport chief Jens Marquardt said: "I cannot express how delighted I am that one of the greatest heroes in the history of BMW motorsport is returning to the cockpit of one of our racing cars. From both a human and a sporting aspect, Alex is a role model to all of us. Zanardi had both legs amputated after a violent crash in a Champcar Series race at Germany's Lausitzring in 2001. Before the accident he had raced in 41 F1 grands prix and been the dominant driver in the CART series, winning the title in 1997 and 1998. He returned to racing less than two years after his accident in 2001 and won four races in the World Touring Car Championship driving a modified BMW.