Racing world stunned by wreck involving Zanardi

KLETTWITZ, Germany -- Even those who have spent a lifetime in auto racing and seen mayhem on the track were aghast at the crash that cost Alex Zanardi both his legs and almost his life.

"It's a big shock to everybody," said Johnny Herbert, a former Formula One teammate. "You have accidents, yes, but you don't expect something this gruesome."

Saturday's American Memorial 500 -- CART's first foray into Europe -- was supposed to "help heal wounds" from Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the United States.

Instead, it produced its own tragedy.

A popular two-time CART champion, Zanardi was in stable but serious condition Sunday in a Berlin trauma clinic after doctors amputated both legs above the knee. He also sustained a small fracture of the pelvis and concussion but, amazingly, no internal or head injuries.

"He's needed a lot of blood transfusions," said Dr. Gerd Schroeter, part of a team of physicians treating the 34-year-old Italian. "But the amounts aren't as great as yesterday. Patients that suffer such a big trauma are subject to heart and lung failure."

He credited CART team physicians Drs. Steve Olvey and Terry Trammel with saving Zanardi's life.

Zanardi is expected to stay in an "induced coma" for several days and in the hospital several weeks.

Zanardi was leading with 12 laps left when he entered the pits. Accelerating out of pit lane, his Honda Reynard got away from him. He spun backward onto the 2-mile oval and into the path of Alex Tagliani barreling by at 200 mph.

Tagliani ripped through Zanardi's nearly stationary car and sheared it in half. The explosion hurled the red nosecone bearing No. 66 into the air, spewing a trail of debris.

The main part of the shredded chassis settled near a retaining wall with Zanardi's red helmet visible inches behind the gnarled nose of the car.

"It's as bad as it gets," said Honda spokesman Dan Layton, who saw the crash from 200 yards away. "As he started to accelerate the car snapped backwards. We don't know if it was mechanical or driver error. The car was going up the track backwards, and the point of impact appeared to be Alex's knees."

"When you get weight moving at that speed, it doesn't take a physics major to see how severe it will be."

Mo Nunn team spokesman Laz Denes saw the crash from the pits. His first thoughts were no doubt like many among the 87,600 fans at EuroSpeedway.

"I knew it could be fatal," he said. "All of our knees buckled. We thought, 'Oh, my God,' and we all just turned and groaned."