IndyCar Series driver Robert Wickens has experienced a lot in the past three years: a paralyzing crash in 2018, regaining strength to have his first dance at his wedding in 2019, and returning to the racetrack virtually in 2020. Now, in 2021, he has just driven a real race car for the first time since his accident.
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Roger Penske has had “more than a couple” of conversations with new Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about the series’ prospects of returning to the Racing Capital of the World, but Penske told the IndyStar that expectations to land a race as soon as the 2022 season are still a bit premature.
“He’d love to come to Indy, but I think they have to decide about how many races they can have in North America,” Penske told IndyStar in an exclusive interview. “We’re always interested, but we’re going to need to look at the economics.
“And I don’t think you’d expect us, based on what we’ve been through in 2020 and 2021 here, to be ready to overcommit to an F1 race right now. But it’s on the horizon.”
KITCHENER Canadian race car driver Robert Wickens, who was nearly killed in an accident two and a half years ago, has got back behind the wheel for the first time. The Guelph native is now using hand controls to trace the car around the track. Wickens suffered a broken spine, neck, and factures to both hands and legs in a devastating 2018 crash. He also had a concussion, fractured elbow, and four cracked ribs. Wickens partnered with paralyzed racer Michael Johnson to make the test happen.
Racing Star Robert Wickens Achieves His Goal of Driving a Race Car Again
Robert Wickens drives the #54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR car using hand controls with Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
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LEXINGTON, Ohio, May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Inspired by the goal to race again and powered by courage, determination, persistence and perseverance, Robert Wickens returned to the cockpit in a Hyundai Veloster N TCR car today, for the first time since his horrific IndyCar accident in 2018. Highlighted with triumphant breakthroughs and executed with laser, goal-oriented focus, Wickens completed 989 days of grueling rehabilitation anticipating today s milestone.