Tag: Robert Wickens

Qualifying Day at Long Beach; Wickens Returns

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Today’s Schedule: All times pacific.

8:30 am-9:30 am- IndyCar Practice 2

11:30 am- 1:00 pm- IndyCar Qualifying

2:00 pm- IMSA race (100 minutes) GTP and GTD

Based on yesterday’s practice, the alternates are faster, but how long will they last? Teams appeared to be saving primaries for the race, resulting in less on track action. Will Power, yesterday’s leader, completed only 20 laps.

Maybe IndyCar should shorten the first practice a bit to encourage cars to be on track for the entire session.

IMSA

BMW locked out the front row with their third straight pole of the season. The team has yet to have success in a race. The Penske Porsches are in Row 2 and poised to take their third straight victory.

Today’s race marks the return of Robert Wickens to major competition. He will start eight in the GTD field. He called his qualifying effort “frustrating.”

Wickens will be in the ble Corvette (I know) number 36.

I’ll be back after practice with the qualifying groups,

Long Beach Preview

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The 2025 Long Beach weekend is one I have been anticipating since my last visit to southern California since my last trip in 2022. Sunday’s Indycar race marks 50 years of racing on the streets of this city by the sea.

It is the 41st race IndyCar. The first race was Formula 5000 event in 1975, followed eight years of Formula 1. How special is this place? Formula 1 tried to return a few years ago and was rebuffed by the city and the grand prix owners. NASCAR turned an eye toward staging a race here as well.

IndyCar resolved the issue by buy the late Kevin Kalkhoven’s half of the franchise. Since by law only one weekend a year can be used for a race in the streets, it is solely for IndyCar as long as they wish.

The third race of the 2025 season should play out much like the St. Pete opener, although there are a couple of added twists.

Longer Race

The race distance is now 90 laps, up from 85 the past few years. How will the new distance affect fuel strategy? Can someone still make it on two stops? And if fuel isn’t the question mark, tires certainly will be.

Changing Colors?

Firestone will bring the same compound to Long Beach that was used at St. Pete. We can assume high wear on the alternates. IndyCar has returned to the new allotment formula of five sets of primaries and five sets of alternates.

Long Beach has traditionally been a race for the alternate tires, but with the alternate rubber’s shorter life this year, is this now a race favoring the primary tires?

Kyle Kirkwood said in the media conference that it is too soon to tell

“In the past, it’s typically been a red tire race. That’s
obviously going to change now, considering it’s the same
tire as St. Pete. That’s really the only question mark we
have in our minds right now. We need to get through the
first practice to know exactly how bad or good it’s going to
be.”

Palou Goes for Three

Alex Palou has a chance Sunday to match teammate Scott Dixon’s feat in 2020 of winning the first three races of the season. I say he will not win this weekend.

Andretti Global looks to be reasserting their street course dominance. Both Colton herta and Kyle Kirkwood have each won at Long Beach. Look for one of them to be in Victory Lane after 90 laps.

IMSA

A highlight of Long Beach is the IMSA event which accompanies the IndyCar race. Saturday’s 100-minute race has some added interest for IndyCar fans.

Robert Wickens makes his return to major league motorsport, driving a Corvette in the GTD class. Wickens won several races and the championship in the Michelin Pilot Challenge.

It will be a thrill to watch him race at this high level again. I have a feeling some fans who use the IMSA race time to just walk around the track will be watching this race.

Wickens Moves to IMSA

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Robert Wickens takes another step forward in his return to racing. Wickens, the 2023 champion in the Michelin Pilot Series, will drive select races in the IMSA Weather Tech Championship.

Driving a specially outfitted Corvette in the GTD class for DXDT Racing, Wickens will drive in the sprint races- Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Road America, and Virginia International Raceway. The hand controls, designed by Bosch, can be switched on or off, giving his teammate the option of using them as well.

Wickens has raced for Bryan Herta Autosport driving a Hyundai in the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series the past few years.

His announcement on X (Twitter) is below:

https://x.com/robertwickens/status/1861145208546558394?t=719frW4GNjuRIGm0TqE-4Q&s=09

Comeback Complete: Wickens Wins at Watkins Glen; Some Notes

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It was only a matter of time before Robert Wickens would win a race. Saturday at Watkins Glen Wickens and co driver Mark Wilkins won the TC/R class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge race. The team finished at Daytona during the Rolex 24 weekend.

Wickens started the race, the Tioga Downs 250, in the Hyundai Elantra owned by Bryan Herta Autosport. He took the lead, then handed the car to Wilkins to finish the race.

In a weekend of national turmoil, it was nice to see a positive, uplifting story like this. Wickens’ comeback story has been an inspiration to many since his paralyzing accident at Pocono in 2018. (Thanks, NBC, for continuing to show it. We don’t need to see it anymore.)

Notes

I’m hearing rumors of a car dropping from the grid due to nonpayment by the sponsor. We may not be able to confirm this until the Mid Ohio entry list comes out. Losing a car would be a bit of a blow to the series, which has had a mostly positive season to date. If you have looked at other sources, you have an idea who I’m talking about.

I am curious about how you view races. Do you still watch on NBC? How many of you watch exclusively on Peacock? Please let me know. If you watch on Peacock, what do you like about it compared to the network broadcast? Thanks.

I believe 2014 was the last season in which the defending series champions dii not win a race in the first half of the year. Will Alex Palou break through sometime before September? I wouldn’t bet against it. I’m not sure it is going to be this weekend though.

Mid Ohio coverage starts tomorrow. I’ll be on site starting Friday with my usual drivel and boring stories.

Bourdais Leads Final Practice; Wickens Shines in Return

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UPDATE: Mark Wilkins took over for To dry Wickens and finished third in the TCR class. Wickens gets a podium in his first race back.

Sebastien Bourdais led a Cadillac parade in the 01 for Chip Ganassi Racing with the fastest lap in this morning’s final practice. The session was run under cool, cloudy conditions and there was a brief light rain shower. The Cadillacs were ahead of the Acuras, the reverse of how practice has gone to date.

In LMP2 Phil Hanson led the way in the number 22 United Autosport Oreca. Rasmus Lindh was fastest in LMP3 in the Andretti Autosport number 36.

Mirko Bortolotti kept the number 63 Lamborghini (bottom photo) at the top of GTD Pro, and the 79 Porsche (top) driven by Julien Andlauer had the fastest GT. time.

Wickens Competitive in Return Race

Robert Wickens drove in his first competition since his accident at Pocono in 2018 in the BMW M Challenge for the Michelin Pilot Series. Wickens started seventh in the Hyundai Elantra, and moved fourth place early in the first hour of the four hour event. He ran as high as third. Near the end of his stint he had a spirited battle with a Bryan Herta Autosport teammate. Wickens drove for just a bit more than two hours. He showed that the talent which made him a star in Indycar is still there. This will be a fun series tom watch this year.

Wickens heads to turn four during the Michelin Pilot Challenge Race.

Wickens Races Again

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It has been a long, torturous path for Robert Wickens since that awful July day at Pocono in 2018. He will be back in a race car in two weeks at Daytona, driving a Hyundai Elantra for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series. The race on January 28 is a preliminary event to the Rolex 24.

It isn’t Indycar, but it is thrilling that Wickens will be back ina race car competing again.

Announcements from the team are below.

The announcement from BHA:

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 14, 2022 – Three-time International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) Champions, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) and Hyundai Motor North America, announced they have signed international racing star, Robert Wickens to co-drive the #33 Elantra N TCR racecar. Wickens will drive with fellow Canadian champion Mark Wilkins in the 2022 IMPC.

“Today is a monumental day for us as a team and as fans of Robert Wickens,” said Bryan Herta, president of BHA. “We have followed along with Robert’s rehabilitation and marveled at his determination and dedication, along with his many, many fans. To now announce that he will be making his professional motorsports return in one of our Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars is truly incredible. We thank Hyundai for their amazing support and helping us build a path for Robert to get back to where he belongs.”

In May of 2021, Wickens successfully evaluated the BHA #54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR using hand controls. It was his first time driving a race car after 989 days of rehabilitation following an IndyCar accident that left him paralyzed in 2018. Wickens will return to competition, taking the green flag at the IMPC season opener, a four-hour endurance race commencing the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 28.

“I’ve spent a lot of nights thinking and dreaming of this moment, and with the support from Bryan Herta and Hyundai it is all becoming a reality,” said Wickens. “I am hungrier now than I was before my accident to compete for wins again! I’m really looking forward to incorporating myself with the entire Bryan Herta Autosport team and finally get my first taste of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR.”

Wickens, a former Formula One test driver, took the American IndyCar scene by storm as a rookie in 2018. He won the pole position and led all but two laps in his first IndyCar race, went on to score four podium finishes and earned the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honor, all in his first 12 IndyCar races in 2018. Race number 13 of his stellar rookie IndyCar season changed his life forever. Wickens was involved in an accident on lap 7 at Pocono Raceway, where he suffered a thoracic spinal fracture, spinal cord injury, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, fractures in both hands, a fractured right forearm, fractured elbow, a concussion, four fractured ribs and a pulmonary contusion. Since the accident, Wickens’ perseverance and persistence has led to triumphant breakthroughs in his relentless regimes of physical rehabilitation and therapy that continues daily. Wickens and his team of therapists and trainers have become trailblazers in developing innovative technology and treatment methods for the spinal cord injury community.

The #33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR has been fitted with a custom hand-control system designed by BHA Technical Director David Brown and Development Technician Jonathan Gormley. The system features a custom metal ring connected to the brake pedal by a series of rods specifically tailored to the Elantra. The ring is attached behind the steering wheel that is pulled with fingers to activate the brake. Two linked throttle paddles and shift paddles, all attached behind the steering wheel, allow the driver to accelerate, shift and make steering inputs. The system also features a switch for Mark Wilkins when he takes over the cockpit in pitstops that deactivates the hand throttle. The Elantra will accelerate and brake using the traditional foot pedals when Wilkins is driving.

Wickens and Wilkins join the previously announced 2022 BHA driver lineup featuring six Elantra N TCR entries to defend the team’s trifecta of series titles, and they will vie for Hyundai’s third straight manufacturers title. The 2022 season kicks off with the season opening test days, the “Roar Before the Rolex 24,” at Daytona International Speedway, Jan. 21-23, 2022. Round one of the 2022 IMPC season takes place the following weekend with the BMW Endurance Challenge, a four-hour race during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.

Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America focuses on ‘Progress for Humanity’ and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs and electrified vehicles. Our 820 dealers sold more than 738,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.

A Great Day for Two Good Guys

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It’s only Wednesday and the emotions in the Indycar family have been riding a roller coaster since Sunday. The joy of Pato o’Ward’s victory was tempered with the news of Bobby Unser’s death. But yesterday, two of the nicest guys in the paddock had great days. Robert Wickens drove a car at speed for the first time since his horrific crash at Pocono in 2018. Stefan Wilson confirmed he has a ride for the Indianapolis 500.

Wickens Return Highlights Indycar iRace at Barber

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Robert Wickens returns to the cockpit although virtually today. No matter. It will be great to see him on “track.” The race is at 2:30 pm ET and also on NBC sports.c and the NBC Sports app.

Here is Wickens’tweet from yesterday: