Champion car racer Alex Zanardi, who lost his legs in a racing accident on Saturday, is off the critical list, medical sources said today.
Zanardi had both legs amputated in a five-hour emergency operation after a 320kph crash at Europe's first ever Champ car (CART) race at Lausitzring in eastern Germany on Saturday.
"He's still in a serious condition, but there's no longer any risk of him losing his life," said Gert Schroter, head doctor of the Berlin clinic where Zanardi had his operation.
Zinardi will undergo a second bout of surgery today so as to avoid possible infections, Schroter said.
An inquiry has been launched by the Cottbus public prosecutor as it came after two other accidents at the same track led to loss of life this year.
Another former Formula one racer, Italian Michele Alboreto (44) died in an accident on April 25th on the circuit while testing an Audi R8 at 320kph in advance of the 24-hours endurance race at Le Mans. The other accident led to the death of a track official.
"In both those cases race organisers were not implicated in the blame," local public prosecutor Petra Hertwig told the Berlinerdaily newspaper today.
Track director Hans-Joerg Fischer was swift to deflect blame from the circuit, claiming the accident could have happened at any other track. "We deeply regret what happened but it was a pure racing accident, nothing to do with the track itself," he said.
AFP