<P> The final race of the season was in Japan, where he qualified 16th . In the race, Zanardi overtook many of his rivals, driving as high as 9th before his pit - lane limiter activated with the engine shutting off when he attempted to turn off the limiter on the first lap . At the end of the season, Zanardi and the Williams team decided to go their separate ways with an estimated cost of $4 million for the termination of Zanardi's contract . </P> <P> In the 2000 season Zanardi was not signed for a team, but was interested in a CART comeback . He tested for Mo Nunn in July at Sebring driving for 246 laps and opted to sign to the team for 2001, however he was not successful for the most part . </P> <P> In his most competitive race of 2001, the 2001 American Memorial, he suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 15 September . Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals . The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps . After a late pit stop, Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier . Carpentier was able to avoid him, but Alex Tagliani, who was just behind Carpentier at the time, could not and Zanardi's car was impacted from the side, behind the front wheel, severing the nose of the car . Zanardi lost both legs (one at the thigh and one at the knee) in the impact and nearly three - quarters of his blood volume, though rapid medical intervention saved his life . Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds . This was the end of his open - wheel racing career . </P> <P> Zanardi was fitted with two prosthetic limbs and began an ambitious rehabilitation program . Dissatisfied with the limitations of legs available commercially, Zanardi designed and built his own custom legs, to allow him to compare the weight and stiffness of various feet in order to find the ones most suitable for racing . In 2002, CART honoured Zanardi by giving him the privilege of waving the checkered flag in Toronto, Canada . In 2003, Zanardi was racing again, with the aid of hand - operated brake and accelerator controls . He ceremonially drove thirteen laps at the Lausitzring, having crashed 13 laps before the end in 2001 . He lapped fast enough that had he been qualifying for the race that weekend, he would have been fifth . It persuaded him that a race return was something to pursue . </P>

Who was the race car driver who lost both of his legs
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