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Alessandro Zanardi Returns to Practice Before Slovakia Ring Race

The man whose photo should be used in the dictionary next to the word ‘ambition’, Alessandro Zanardi, just finished a round of practice in Slovakia Ring, preparing for the upcoming challenge in the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series.
Alessandro Zanardi 1 photo
Photo: BMW
With his trusted BMW Z4 GT3, the 47-year-old driver that is celebrating his return to Motorsport this year, wanted to get acquainted with the circuit on which he didn’t race before.

In his two days of practice on the Slovakian track, Alessandro managed to get his car up on par and learn the circuit, in hope that he will build up on his previous encouraging race, at Brands Hatch. Back in May, it was over there where he pulled a successful comeback from 17th place to fifth on the finishing grid.

“Overall I am quite pleased with the outcome of this test,” Zanardi said. “The main objective was to understand what this circuit requires. The weather was similar to what we can expect when we race here in August. For sure it will be even hotter then, but we have learnt a lot about what we have to do with the set-up in order to save the tyres and make them last longer.

Other teams were also present on the track which gave him even more info to work with, as he had plenty of reference points to use. Due to the weather (around 26 degrees Celsius) the team also found out that some extra vents are necessary inside the cabin for August, when the race will take place, when the weather is expected to be even hotter.

“It was important for us to test at Slovakia Ring for two main reasons: The circuit is new for Alex, so it was a good opportunity for him to learn it, and he got some more track time in the long break between the races at Brands Hatch and Slovakia Ring,” added Roberto Ravaglia, Team Principal of ROAL Motorsport.

However, before the race in Bratislava, Alex will compete with his handbike in the “Maratona delle Dolomiti” race on July 6th, in South Tyrol, Italy, where he hopes for another win. After claiming two Paralympic champion titles at the 2012 London Olympics, we think he really has a shot.
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