Robert Wickens Checking 'a Massive Box' in IMSA WeatherTech Series

Yahoo

19-03-2025

Robert Wickens' return to top level of racing will be in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
He's slated to team with two-time GTLM champion Tommy Milner and race for DXDT Racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach April 11-12.
Wickens will team with veteran racer Milner to pilot a specially equipped Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R with a state-of-the-art hand-control braking system.
Ever since Robert Wickens was critically injured in an August 2018 IndyCar crash at Pocono Raceway that left him paralyzed, he's been on the comeback trail.
And while Wickens had already made it back to racing—he's raced a TCR car and tested a Formula E car, to name just two elements, among others, of his return—the leap he's about to make to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is definitely next-level. This week, Wickens is testing a specially equipped Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R with a state-of-the-art hand-control braking system at Sebring International Raceway.
It's all part of Wickens' return to top-level racing. He's slated to team with two-time GTLM champion Tommy Milner and race for DXDT Racing at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach April 11-12. Wickens plans to race in the IMSA sprint races this season with designs on a full-season run at the series championship in 2026.
"I think this is a big step for me to officially get that fulfillment—I want to be a full-time contender in the WeatherTech series," Wickens said in a media call on Wednesday. "But honestly, taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be an enormous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels.
"Basically, you could say we did it. We're racing against the best cars, the best drivers in the whole sports-car industry. I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT. There's still some work to be done, but I think you can say it's definitely a massive box checked—probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return."
The 36-year-old Wickens will be making his first start in the GTD class and first start in the IMSA WeatherTech series since the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona where he raced with Ben Keating, Chris Cumming, John Falb, and Remo Ruscitti in a Starworks Motorsport entry.
Making this return to the big stage possible are the efforts of Bosch, General Motors, Pratt & Miller, and DXDT Racing. The team's Corvette Z06 GT3.R has been equipped with special hand controls that allow Wickens to control the electronic braking and throttle with hand controls that top anything the driver has experienced since his accident.
"I think the biggest takeaway I have so far is that it feels like the Bosch EBS and the hand-control system that was developed by Pratt & Miller, it's like it belonged in this car," Wickens said midway through his second day of testing. "There hasn't been a single hiccup. It feels like when they designed this, this Z06 GT3, it's like it belongs in the car.
"Immediately, I felt way more comfortable with the braking feeling and braking sensation than I even had in my past racing in TCR with the Bosch EBS. It was a massive step forward. So, hats off to all the men and women at Bosch and also Pratt & Miller and DXDT for collaborating to make this all possible."
To get ready for the Sebring test and return to the racetrack, Wickens spent countless hours in the simulator.
"Racing on my home simulator, not only is it very fun, but it made my dexterity and kind of my resolution on my hand for throttle application, in particular, just stronger and stronger," he said. "And I think after driving this Corvette Z06, I feel like the next step for me is actually to start doing more throttle application with my right hand, just to build that muscle memory.
"For people that don't know, I pretty much do like 98% of the throttle application with my left hand. So that way I can freely upshift with my right hand, and then brake with my right hand, downshift with the left hand type of thing. With this car, like turn 7 (at Sebring), there's a few corners here where I feel like I need to start practicing using throttle with both hands a little bit more.
"But the home simulator, it definitely didn't hurt. The brake that I use on my home simulator is very different to what we have in the race car, but for throttle purposes, I think it's very helpful."
One of the first questions for any sports-car tandem in the WeatherTech series when one driver faces some of the challenges that Wickens does—and with the added technology in the race car—is how will this affect the crucial in-race driver changes.
Milner says it won't be an issue on race day.
"In Robbie's case, he has to do all of his driving with with his hands," Milner said. "Him being paralyzed from the chest down, he has no use of his feet, really. The systems are basically set up so that he can do all that with the steering wheel itself. And there's a brake ring, there's a throttle, throttle paddles, and those obviously take the place of what I would normally use in the pedal box.
"The system is quite impressive with how it functions and how it works. With just one push of a button, the system switches from the able-bodied driver controls to the hand controls, which obviously is important for sports-car racing where we have driver changes.
"It'll be especially important at Long Beach, (with) the driver change being a pretty important part of the race, because that typically ends up being kind of the limiting factor in the pit stop. The tires and the fuel typically take a little bit less energy, take a little bit less time.
"Robbie obviously comes from a place where he has the sports-car racing experience, where he's had to do those driver changes. So from that side, there's no real limitations, so to speak. He knows what he needs to get out of the car."
Milner added that it's hard not to be inspired by Wickens' return. Milner even called it "an honor" to be a part of it.
"His drive and determination is pretty incredible," Milner said. "It's pretty inspiring to see that, and I'm excited to go racing with him at Long Beach."