One of the most popular and inspiring figures in international motorsports, Alessandro (Alex) Zanardi added another chapter to his amazing story Wednesday as he captured the Gold medal in Road Cycling at the Paralympics in London.

Zanardi, 45, a two-time CART PPG IndyCar World Series champion, lost both legs above the knee in a terrifying crash at the Lausitzring ChampCar race in September 2001.

His personality, determination, and humor helped him return to racing and win, driving a BMW World Touring Car Championship car specially equipped with hand controls.

Zanardi took up Road Cycling using a hand crank powered bike with his goal being to qualify for the 2012 Paralympics in London and win today’s gold medal.

The event took place at Brands Hatch, a circuit he knows well from his F1 days. Incredibly, there may be more. Zanardi has two more events; an individual race and a team relay.

UPDATE:
Zanardi added a second Paralympic Games gold medal in the individual road race and then helped the Italian team rally to capture the silver medal in the team relay.

Tributes from racers around the world lit up the Twitterverse on Wednesday morning as @lxznr took the gold. His former team owner, Chip Ganassi, and driving teammate Jimmy Vasser, are now exploring the possibility of providing Zanardi a car to race for the 2013 Indy 500.