Paralyzed Driver Robert Wickens To Race In Grand Prix Using Bosch Tech
Race car driver Robert Wickens behind the wheel of the DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R outfitted ... More with Bosch Automotive hand-operated brake controls. Wickens's legs were paralyzed after a 2018 on-track crash.
Race car driver Robert Wickens will get behind the wheel of a DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Saturday's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Unlike his competition, Wickens will speed through the course without the use of his legs, operate the race car with only his hands, and use, an electronic hand-braking system developed by Bosch.
It will be the first time the system will be in a race car at the Grand Touring Daytona level and Wickens's initial race on the circuit as well. It's a significant step in an excruciating battle that began almost seven years ago after an accident at a 2018 IndyCar Series race at Pocono Raceway.
DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R equipped with Bosch hand-operated brake controls, driven by Robert ... More Wickens whose legs were paralyzed in a 2018 on-track crash.
The way he tells it, he and another driver were fighting for position when their wheels touched, and his car hit a track catch fence.
'I think basically at my point of impact, I was going 212 miles an hour,' Wickens explained in an interview. 'It became a very sudden stop, very quickly, and more of like the kind of the rotation of the car is what did the damage to my body.'
The damage was fractures to both hands, his right arm, left and right leg and some broken ribs, but the multiple injuries to his spinal cord were the most devastating of all, paralyzing his legs.
He went through years of multiple surgeries and rehab, at hospitals and rehab facilities in Colorado, Indiana and Pennsylvania, suffering multiple setbacks but never giving up on the idea of returning to the racetrack.
Race car driver Robert Wickens in front of the DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R he plans to drive ... More in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach using hand-operated braking controls.
'The question never came to mind that I didn't want to do it,' he recalled. 'Whenever drivers would come to visit me the talk was, oh, I'll make the start of next season. I'll be back. I'll make St. Pete and yeah, and I'll get back on the horse and get after it.'
By 2021, Wickens did get back on the 'horse' driving for the first time since his accident when another paralyzed driver, Michael Johnson, offered to let him take a spin in a car outfitted for him with hand controls for the brakes.
The next year, Hyundai hired Wickens to drive, also with the use of hand controls, but, he said, it was an off-the-shelf, mechanical system he described as 'clunky' that was not satisfactory because of the lag time between squeezing the control and the brakes engaging. That's dangerous, especially at high racing speeds.
Wickens says he knew what he really wanted in a hand-controlled system and began some research. His breakthrough came when he was introduced to folks from Bosch Motorsport, which had developed an electronic braking system, also known as by-wire.
Wickens worked with Bosch to get to the other 20% to meet his requirements and after a year of development debuted the system at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the final rounds of the 2024 Touring Car Class championship in a Hyundai race car.
'Bosch was really my savior, because they, they solved 80% of the puzzle,' Wickens said.
The experience was quite different from that mechanical system in Johnson's Hyundai.
'With the Bosch system, the first time I applied the brake, it was like a hallelujah moment where it's just like it was perfect, instantaneous breaking exactly when I want to hit the brakes,' Wickens said. 'The brakes applied for the same amount of force that I was expecting the brakes to apply with. It feels like it just belongs in the car, like it was just always a component in there, like it was never an afterthought.'
For the upcoming Grand Touring Daytona race in Long Beach, Bosch, Chevrolet and vehicle builder Pratt Miller and DXDT Racing collaborated to adapt the system to the Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
'Robert came to us with a challenge we knew our by-wire technology could help solve — and potentially shape the future of racing,' said Jacob Bergenske, director of Bosch Motorsport North America, in emailed comments. 'From the beginning, our concept was to make the system adaptable to a variety of race cars through a modular software framework. Robert has a bright future ahead, and we're excited to see how this collaboration supports his journey in the years to come.'
'Our team at Pratt Miller delivered a fully integrated solution in a remarkably compressed timeframe—one that enables seamless transitions between hand control and traditional pedal operation with the push of a button,' said Ben Johnson, motorsports technology group executive director, Pratt Miller, in a statement.
Wickens will be sharing the driving with Corvette Racing factory driver Tommy Milner. Aside from simply being able to race, reaching the Grand Touring Daytona level represents a long-sought goal.
'What it means is I'm in the headline race again. You know, in my opinion, I'm racing at the highest levels of motor sport,' Wickens said. 'Being on that grid, taking the green flag in a Corvette Z06 GT3.R, it's going to be awesome.'
The green flag just gets him started. There's that black and white one Wickens has his eyes on, along with sending a message to others in his physical situation.
'The goal is obviously to win. I always want to win.' Wickens says. "But whether if that's a realistic goal or not, we'll have to wait and see. But one thing that I feel like I've made very clear through this whole journey is, I, I love that I'm raising awareness for spinal cord injuries and for anyone disabilities to prove that anything's possible.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bill slashing ticket fees passes Pennsylvania House
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Massive ticket fees may soon be a thing of the past in Pennsylvania. The House passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday that takes aim at the ticket resale market. Known as House Bill 967, it would cap fees ticket resellers can charge at 5% for the buyer and 5% for the seller. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Reps. Mary Isaacson (D-Philadelphia) and Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin) proposed the bill, citing exuberant fees on some of Pennsylvania's favorite pastimes, such as Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins games. Some fees cost as much as 55%, according to a co-sponsorship memo for the bill. 'These undue and extremely high fees put a burden on ticket prices and only serve as barriers for hardworking Pennsylvanians who want to cheer on their favorite sports team or see their favorite musical artist play,' Rep. Isaacson said. The representatives aren't the ones aiming for ticket fees. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission required ticket sellers to disclose total costs upfront, including fees. Pennsylvania House passes bill to expand AG oversight of health system transactions While he acknowledged companies need to make a profit, Rep. Mehaffie said, 'the reseller and company should not be setting fees so high that they are depriving others of the experience' to attend live events. The bill passed in a 108-95 vote. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Watch Out For Driverless Tesla EVs On The Streets Of Austin
Watch Out For Driverless Tesla EVs On The Streets Of Austin originally appeared on Autoblog. Tesla cancelled (or at least shelved) plans for an affordable EV to slot in below the Model 3 in price so that it could focus on launching its autonomous robotaxi service, something company CEO Elon Musk said would happen in June. Indeed, Bloomberg recently reported that Tesla would aim to launch its self-driving taxis on June 12 in Austin, Texas. History has taught us to take Musk's promises (and unconfirmed rumors) about self-imposed timelines with a large grain of salt, but as noted in a video spotted by CarScoops, Tesla may actually be on track for the ambitious launch. Therein, what a new Model Y makes a left turn as pedestrians are about to cross the intersection, and the car stops, allowing us to see that the driver's seat is unoccupied. The video shared on X (formerly Twitter) is embedded below and shows a dark-colored Model Y that seems to be perfectly in control of self-navigation, while another, white Model Y without a 'Robotaxi' decal is following close behind. The quality, angle, and lighting of the video make it difficult to see inside this second Model Y, but it's safe to assume that a Tesla employee is driving this to monitor anything unusual from the self-driving prototype. In addition, Tesla has confirmed that humans will be remotely supervising all unmanned autonomous vehicles in its robotaxi fleet, thereby adding a failsafe that should keep Tesla from being embroiled in another scandal. Things seem to be on track on the regulatory side, too. Teslarati reports that Tesla has been approved as an official operator of autonomous vehicles in the state of Texas, which shows on the state's website as of Monday. That said, the site notes that Tesla is still in the testing phase, as are most other autonomous vehicle operators in Austin. Waymo is listed as still in the development phase, though it already launched driverless ride-hailing services in the city in partnership with Uber. Meanwhile, Hyundai-owned Motional is said to be in the mapping phase. Amazon's Zoox is also preparing to launch soon. On X, Musk indicated that the robotaxi launch may not be an invitation-only event, which supports the belief that Tesla is on schedule. We'll see tomorrow if Bloomberg's date was correct. If not, we'll be back soon to explain what happened. Watch Out For Driverless Tesla EVs On The Streets Of Austin first appeared on Autoblog on Jun 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
E-bikes are becoming e-waste – here's how to reduce the environmental cost
Electric e-bikes make cycling easier, faster and more accessible. They are already playing an important role in reducing the environmental impact of transport, particularly when they replace a trip in a private car. But when you scrap an e-bike, you also have to scrap its battery. And these batteries can be particularly dangerous and tricky to dispose of. This means the growth of e-bikes is leading to at least one related environmental problem: a rise in electronic or e-waste. The sector needs stronger regulations to encourage it to cut its waste. This includes encouraging bikes to be designed to be easier to repair or recycle, and establishing universal standards that allow parts to work across different brands and models, so components can be reused instead of thrown away. However, e-bikes often fall between legislative cracks, and their exclusion from the priority products under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, introduced in 2024, was unfortunate. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. At the University of Limerick in Ireland, colleagues and I have been researching the environmental impact of e-bikes. We're interested in their full lifecycle, from metals in rocks to extraction, manufacturing, years of use and eventual disposal – to see if there are ways to reduce the materials they use. We interviewed retailers and people who work in waste management. They expressed concerns about online sales of lower-quality e-bikes with easily broken components, as well as the high turnover rates of e-bikes. Using data from the fleet of e-bikes loaned out at our university, we noted issues with design and compatibility of components. Bike tyres, for instance, have become increasingly non-standard and specialised. Additive manufacturing, such as 3D printing, may become more important for bike retailers and repairers, who could use it to 'print' themselves replacements nuts, screws or even seats. This may be particularly needed in island states such as Ireland, where there are often delays in sourcing parts. But first, the e-bikes must be of sufficient quality to be repaired. Then, to create the replacement parts, people will need to access the necessary data – digital files with precise designs of objects such as a bicycle tyre or handlebar. New business models are emerging. Some companies are lending e-bikes to their employees, with a management company taking care of maintenance and repair. There are also a growing number of mobile e-bike repair services, and specialist training for e-bike repair and retail through manufacturer platforms like Bosch and Shimano. E-bike brands are shifting from a focus on selling bikes towards offering ongoing services. For example, e-bike retailer Cowboy offers a subscription to mobile bike mechanics, and VanMoof partners with authorised repair services. But while these models work well in big towns and cities, they may not be suitable for rural and smaller urban areas. Care needs to be taken to ensure that consumers are not disadvantaged or locked out from repair options. In the US, e-bike manufacturers have been requesting exceptions to laws designed to make products easier to repair – while urging that the public should not be allowed to access data needed to make repairs. On the waste handling side, some of the innovations that have made e-bikes more accessible are also creating new problems. For example, e-bikes have evolved to be sleeker and sometimes indistinguishable from regular bikes. This makes it easier for them to end up in regular waste management facilities that aren't equipped for electronic waste. If a lithium-ion battery inside an e-bike still holds charge and gets crushed or shredded, it can start a fire. But this is a problem we can solve. Computer vision and other AI technologies could help to recognise e-bikes and batteries at waste management facilities. QR codes on bike frames could be used to provide information on the entire product lifecycle, including repair manuals and service history – just like the EU's proposed product passports. Consumer awareness, choice and education are key. While it's up to consumers to initiate the maintenance and repair of e-bikes, policymakers need to ensure these options are available and affordable, and that consumers are aware of them. Retailers need support to embed 'repair and reuse' in their business models. This includes cycle-to-work schemes for people to buy e-bikes, as well as better access to insurance and legal protections for selling refurbished e-bikes, and a workforce with the skills to repair these bikes. Across the world, bike libraries and 'try before you buy' schemes are helping consumers make better decisions, as people can test an e-bike before committing. Moving away from traditional ownership – especially for expensive e-bikes – could make active mobility more accessible. Policies that drive sales, such as grants and incentives for new bike purchases, can work against efforts to reduce waste. We need more policies that support refurbished and repaired e-bikes. The e-bike sector is one with great potential to improve both environmental and public health. But to realise these benefits, we need to focus on making them last longer and use less resources. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Yvonne Ryan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
