Former F1 driver Alex Zanardi, who lost his legs after a horrific crash in 2001, enjoyed a golden finale to his “magical adventure” by winning the Paralympic men’s individual H4 handcycling time trial Wednesday.

At the Brands Hatch circuit, former host of the British Formula One Grand Prix, the 45-year-old Italian blitzed to gold over the 16-km course in 24 minutes, 50.22 seconds.

Zanardi finished more than 27 seconds ahead of German Norbert Mosandl, with American Oscar Sanchez taking bronze.

“This is a great accomplishment, one of the greatest of my life,” Zanardi said. “I worked very hard to get here. It was great to live such an experience at 45.”

Zanardi had both legs amputated above the knee after crashing in the Champ Car series in 2001.