Photo: MSV

Alex Zanardi wins Paralympic Gold Medal at Brands Hatch

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Former WTCC race winner, Formula 1 driver and two-time Champcar World Series champion Alex Zanardi has won a Gold medal at at the London 2012 Paralympics in the Men’s hand cycling H4 time trial.

The Italian set a time 27 seconds faster than that of his nearest competitor at the event and grabs his first Paralympic Gold.

The individual time trial is the first of three events Zanardi is taking part in at this year’s games, with the Men’s Individual H4 Road Race on Friday and the Mixed H1-4 Team Relay on Saturday.

Zanardi’s Gold is Italy’s fifth in the games so far.

The Italian lost both his legs in a crash at the Lausitzring in 2001 whilst driving in Champcar. In 2004 he returned to racing full-time in the European Touring Car Championship for BMW, which became the WTCC in 2005. Zanardi took four race victories before leaving the Championship at the end of 2009.