BMW - HUMAN MEETS MACHINE

The 24 Hours of Daytona marked the exciting kickoff to BMW Motorsport’s racing season in North America. But this year was special.

This year Italian racing legend Alex Zanardi joined BMW to race the #24 BMW M8 GTLM car in the famed 24-hour endurance race.

Zanardi lost both of his legs in a Cart crash in 2001. He would race again with prosthetic legs, but found them inadequate for long-term usage required in endurance racing. He took up paracycling and won two gold medals in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In support of Zanardi and to make racing in an endurance race as part of a four-man team possible, BMW leveraged their engineering expertise to develop and build a one-of-a-kind steering wheel that made steering, shifting and controlling the throttle possible using only his hands and a unique lever to break and downshift through turns.

Returning for one race before training for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, GS&P jumped on the opportunity to honorZanardi for the inspiration he is, and the engineering that went into making this possible with a film.

The new film from GS&P showcases Zanardi’s inspirational return and the BMW technology that made it possible, championing them each as the ultimate inspiration and the Ultimate Driving Machine. This marks the first work from Matt Edwards and Wes Phelan, GS&P’s newest creative directors.