Alex Zanardi with BMW for the Dream Race Super GT / DTM

In the almost immediate aftermath of his return confirmed at the wheel of the BMW M6 GT3 in the Italian Championship, Alessandro Zanardi will also be one of the three drivers selected by BMW Motorsport to compete in the famous and highly anticipated Dream Race DTM / Super GT at Fuji (November 22-24).

A common event between the two championships which will be brought together in 2020 under the aegis of the Class One regulations (the DTM having already adopted these specifications in 2019), which will follow a first confrontation on track next month on the occasion of the DTM final at Hockenheim.

For the Japanese event, Masaaki Bandoh, boss of the Japanese promoter GTA, confirmed last weekend on the sidelines of the Sugo round that four Audi RS 5s and three BMW M4s would be at the start against the Lexu LC500, Honda NSX-GT and other Nissan GT-R Nismo meeting GT500 regulations. Aston Martin will not, however, be represented in Japan.

“Participating in the Dream Race with DTM and Super GT is something wonderful for me, comments Zanardi, double CART champion in the 90s and amputee of both legs after his terrible accident at the Lausitzring in 2001.

Just the fact that I am still able to race is like a gift to me. The BMW M4 DTM is definitely one of the best racing cars I have driven in my career.

Plus, I'll have 100 more horsepower under the hood this year. It’s going to be fantastic and I’m extremely grateful to BMW Motorsport for this opportunity. I know that racing in DTM is a huge challenge, because all the drivers are highly professional and fully prepared.

And this time we will also have the Super GT drivers. As such, my expectations are not too high, from a sporting point of view. I just want to evolve to the best of my abilities and achieve something worthy of the event. »

In action at the start of the year at the 24 Hours of Daytona with the BMW M8 GTE – Team RLL, Zanardi will return to the cockpit of an M4 DTM that he already knows well having notably competed in the Misano races in Italy last year .

Controls specially adapted to the handicap of the former pilot F1 will logically be loaded onto the car. BMW has yet to confirm the two other drivers who will make the Japanese trip.