Motorsport legend Alex Zanardi is stable after suffering a severe head injury during a handbike race in Italy.

The former CART champion, Formula 1 driver and three-time Paralympic gold medalist was airlifted to hospital and underwent a three-hour surgery on Friday after veering across the road and colliding with a truck.

Zanardi remains in intensive care and his breathing is being aided due to what doctors called a "serious neurological picture", however his “hemodynamic and metabolic” parameters are stable.

This is not the first severe crash the Italian has suffered after losing both his legs in a CART accident at the Lausitzring in 2001, but he has since returned to motorsport competing in Touring Car series like the WTCC and DTM as well as sportscars, notably at the Daytona 24 Hours.

Handbike racing had become Zanardi's new speciality though, as he won golds both at the London and Rio Paralympics and was set to compete in Tokyo this year, though that has been delayed to 2021 due to Covid-19.

Well wishes have been quick to pour in for the 53-year-old, with #ForzaAlex being used to show support.