It’s been almost 1000 days since Robert Wickens’ crash at Pocono Superspeedway. On Tuesday, the great Canadian strapped into the No. 54 Hyundai Veloster TCR race car at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The specially equipped car, complete with hand-controls for brakes, throttle and clutch, races in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series with driver Michael Johnson.
Hometown hero Robert Wickens started in karting at local Ontario tracks. Through the open wheel junior series, he demonstrated his skill and landed a factory Mercedes race seat in the illustrious DTM series. When he arrived in IndyCar in 2018, he was partnered with fellow Canadian James Hinchcliffe to form the “Eh Team” at Schmidt Peterson Racing, now racing as Arrow McLaren SP.
The 2018 IndyCar “rookie of the year” was involved in a horrific wreck at Pocono that altered the course of his life. Initially confined to a wheelchair upon release from the hospital, three years of intense physiotherapy has helped Wickens regain some use of his legs. With the help of his racing family, and the aforementioned hand-controls, Wickens was able to reach a personal milestone of getting back behind the wheel of a race car. With such determination, who knows what this man will achieve next.