Four years ago, Robert Wickens was paralyzed in a crash. Today, Wickens competed in his first race since the crash using hand controls…
And finished on the podium at Daytona
Wickens in his first-ever race start in the category, along with co-driver Mark Wilkins, had started from seventh and showed strong pace in the race, including leading on two occasions.
Wickens drove the first stint for the first hour and a half, before handing over to Wilkins, who simply had to flick a switch to change from the hand controls used by his compatriot to the traditional foot pedals he would use.
In the final ten minutes, Wilkins sealed the podium with a solid pass on the Audi of Tristan Herbert, who had put in an impressive effort in his New German Performance Audi to finish 3rd.
Wickens was in his wheelchair for the podium celebration when the champagne was passed out for the customary celebratory spray. But he’d locked the brakes — “rookie move,” he said — and was using both hands to hold his own bottle. So he couldn’t move out of the way when the other five drivers on the podium moved in for the attack.
“I was so excited to spray champagne, I just felt like celebrating,” Wickens said. “But then I realized ‘I can’t move because both my hands are on the champagne bottle’ and that’s not fair. But I wasn’t complaining. And I got quite a bit.
The Canadian was enjoying a breakout rookie IndyCar season before his crash in the 14th race of 2018 which left him paralyzed.
Wickens’ car went airborne and struck the catchfence. His injuries included a thoracic spinal fracture, spinal cord injury, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs and fractures in both hands.
After an extensive hospitalization, Wickens began a lengthy rehabilitation process. Today, he is able to stand with assistance, but admitted his progress has plateaued.
Bryan Herta Autosport made his comeback possible with a custom hand control system that Wickens uses for accelerating and braking.
His return to racing result was something Wickens never thought possible during so much of his recovery.
“I think it’s just the beginning,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunity that we can still improve and become stronger.”
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