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Zanardi to Contest End-of-Year Italian GT Enduro at Monza

Alex Zanardi to take part in three-hour Italian GT endurance race later this year…

Photo: BMW

Alex Zanardi will drive a BMW M6 GT3 in the final endurance round of this year’s Italian GT Championship at Monza on November 6-8.

Zanardi will use hand controls in the specially adapted BMW that he will share with Stefano Comandini and 17-year-old GT4 standout Marius Zug.

The car will be run by the BMW Team Italia outfit led by multiple touring car series champion Roberto Ravaglia.

Zanardi was due to take part in the Tokyo Paralympic Games this year but these were postponed to August and September in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The double CART champion will complement his prolonged training program for the Paralympics handcycling competition with an outing in Italian GT, which he has driven in twice before.

His first outing in the M6 GT3 at Mugello in 2016 resulted in a victory, while he returned to the track to drive in the penultimate round of last year’s series with Ravaglia’s team.

“I am already really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the BMW M6 GT3,” said Zanardi.

“It is always nice to take to the track with BMW Team Italia. My old mate Roberto Ravaglia’s team is like a second family to me. I am also looking forward to working with my close friends at BMW M Motorsport again.

“And I am obviously also looking forward to Monza. This racetrack is a true classic and you can sense the remarkable history as soon as you pass through the gates of the Royal Park.

“This year, the race in Monza represents much more than just a race because it takes place in the region of Italy that was affected the most by the pandemic.

“Racing in Monza embodies the desire to start again after the difficult time we have all been through.”

Last year Zanardi contested races in three different types of BMW machinery.

His motorsport campaign started with a debut appearance in the Rolex 24 at Daytona behind the wheel of an M8 GTE, followed by his Italian GT outing in the M6 GT3 and a drive in the joint Super GT/DTM ‘Dream Race’ event at Fuji with an M4 DTM.

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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