Alex Zanardi enjoyed arguably the strongest race weekend since the accident that almost cost him his life back in 2001 with a starring role in the latest rounds of the World Touring Car Championship at Brno.
The ever-popular Italian, who lost both his legs below the knee in the horrendous Lausitzring CART smash, rolled back the years in the Czech Republic by securing a maiden WTCC pole at the wheel of his
BMW 320si and followed it up with a stunning podium double – including a win in the opening race.
That opening race had seen Zanardi drop behind team-mate Felix Porteiro off the line but he battled past the Spaniard and then led him home for a one-two finish for the ROAL Motorsport-run team.
Starting from eighth on the grid for race two thanks to the reverse grid rules, Zanardi slipped back to tenth in the early stages before battling his way back through the field to second place behind runaway leader Gabriele Tarquini.
Closing down the gap to his fellow countryman, Zanardi made his move for the lead on the final but despite making a brave move for the lead through the final corners, he had to settle for second place.
His first points of the year however have seen Zanardi rocket up the championship standings to lie twelfth, just four points away from the top ten.
"After the pole, I was really very happy," he said. "The single lap has a great value for a driver, because it's where you see who has something more and who is the fastest. But considering the level of the WTCC, this has been an unexpected satisfaction and I still struggle to understand what happened today.
"The victory in race one has to be shared among all BMW Team Italy-Spain's men, who did an excellent job following Thursday's test. I am convinced that this success will strengthen further the confident climate within our team. The awareness of being able to count on a driver that can make the difference can be a motivation for the team and being the ending point of an exceptional team pushes me to give my best every time I get on track.
![Alex Zanardi - BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320si [Pic credit: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/455474.jpg)
