Roceye, no need to apologize for side-tracking the thread. I can see your point, although I don't personally agree with it.

Mav, I don't think you can blame CART for the accident...whether the race was ran on Saturday or any other day, a serious accident is just as likely to happen. It's just depressing that it happened to anyone, but even more tragic with someone like Zanardi.

 

There is no way that this tragedy can be blamed on CART.

I am also a huge Zanardi fan, and upon hearing the news, my heart sank. I will never forget seeing him pass Bryan Herta (the master of Laguna Seca) in the corkscrew with 3 out 4 of his tires in the dirt, and kept complete control of his car, and go on to win the race. Thankfully, he is still alive and can still see his son grow up.

It is really a shame when a sport as good as racing is, can have things like this happen. Our prayers are with you, Alex.

 

I totally agree with most of the people here -- you can't blame the tragedy on CART. It was a rare, racing accident but it could have happened anywhere to anyone at anytime. If you believe it fate, it would have happened to Alex next week at the British race.

For those of you that say that the race should have been cancelled, where do you draw the line? College and NFL football was cancelled, but our local highschools played football. Should they have cancelled their games for the weekend too?

CART is based in America, but most of the drivers are Brazilian and the teams and equipment were already there, except for Andretti. Logistically, they couldn't have come back to the US anyway. Also, the next race is in England, and they werent coming back between the 2.

So, do they just sit around for that time?

In retrospect maybe CART should have cancelle the race. However, they held what looks like a somber tribute to the 9/11 disaster. Given the injury to Alex, it doesn't really matter what decisions were or werent made...

I wish him a speedy recovery, although that is not too realistic. I know the next few days will be the most trying as his condition gets stabilized. Of course, with him living on the other side of the Pond, I just hope we still see him from time to time, although that is a bit unrealistic.

he is a fighter, but this is the toughest fight of his life...

Thanks to the media, Zanardi fans will NEVER forget that pass...

 

I have forwarded the prayers from all on this board to Bryan Herta, a former associate and current driver for McDonalds/Forsythe Racing.

As to those here that would blame CART for holding the race...SHAME ON YOU! Auto Racing and similar activities (i.e. football) are disdained by those that would bring down our nation. Hell, even kite flying by school aged children is forbidden by the Taliban. Auto Racing is an American institution and I for one respect those at CART for going forward. The fact of the cars being there is mute. CART leadership made a decision not to succomb to the enemy on any front and should be supported for that decision.

The purpose of terrorism is to disrupt society and from comments from folks like Rockeye and others it appears they have succeeded. I made a decision on the day of the WTC tragedy to keep producing airplane parts. It would have been easier to send all my engineers home. Our staff met and agreed not to let the bastards win. Utah is a long way from NYC. We could help more by staying focused and not letting the ripple effect shut down this great American nation and economy. If we shut down our country they win. Personally I am somewhat disappointed by the NFL decision.

My prayers go out to all effected by the terrorist attacks and personally to the Zanardi family.

Utah

http://www.herta.com/gallery.htm

 

Update:

He is, however, considered to be stable and is currently resting in the Intensive Care Unit of the Klinikum Berlin-Marzahn hospital.
"He has been put in an artificial coma," a spokeswoman for the Berlin hospital told Reuters. "His condition can no longer be described as extremely life-threatening but remains critical."

Both of Zanardi's legs were severed in the impact, one above the knee and one below the knee.

Zanardi underwent a three-hour surgical procedure last night where doctors attempted to reattach his severed legs. However, despite the quick response of the CART Safety Team to retrieve and package the limbs in ice, the damage was too great.

Once in surgery, the damage to Zanardi's remaining knee was deemed significant enough that it too was lost in the process of stabilizing his condition.

According to Dr. Steve Olvey, CART Director of Medical Affairs, Zanardi ultimately lost both legs above the knee in a traumatic amputation.

Zanardi also suffered a moderately severe concussion and several small fractures to the pelvis. He is expected to remain in the Intensive Care Unit for several more days.

Considering the extend of Zanardi's injuries and the rate of blood loss at the scene of the accident, CART Safety Team members are being credited with saving Zanardi's life.

 

dlq,

where have you been finding the latest updates? Most of the stuff I see if just the same story rebroadcast...

Thanks!

 

Did you know that Alex Zanardi was the only racer that passed a competitor on the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. and pulled it off!!

 

Same here regarding the updates. Thanks for supplying them dlq04. Prayers go out for Alex and his family.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Spanky
[B]Did you know that Alex Zanardi was the only racer that passed a competitor on the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca.

 

Here's the BEST web site for what's happ'non in the big leagues of open wheel racing:

http://www.seventhgear.com/