Amputee Zanardi gears up for crack at New York marathon

RACING driver and double amputee Alex Zanardi will bring his in-car competitiveness to the streets of the Big Apple tomorrow as he competes in the ING New York City Marathon.

The Italian former Formula One and CART driver Zanardi, 40, will use a handcycle in his first 26.2 mile road race, just four weeks after accepting an invitation to race from a mutual sponsor.

The two-time CART champion, who also drove for F1 teams Jordan, Minardi and Lotus between 1991-94 and Williams in 1999, lost both his legs in an accident in 2001 while racing Champ Cars in Germany.