When Canadian racing star Robert Wickens was injured in a horrific INDYCAR crash at Pocono Raceway in August of 2018, there were questions of his ability to overcome paralysis and race again. The accident, during the driver’s exemplary rookie season, halted what could have been Schmidt Peterson Motorsport’s great hope for a first championship run. As it was, Wickens as awarded Rookie of the Year honors.
Since that time, not only has the driver recuperated but he’s succeeded in many ways that were not expected by anyone that didn’t know Wickens. He’s standing, walking with mechanical assistance, got married and now has a son. Professionally, Wickens is the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge champion in a car equipped with Bosch hand-controlled throttle and brake systems, mounted to the steering wheel.
The 2025 IMSA season will be revelatory for this driver, who began his racing career as a single-seater specialist. Wickens won his first international championship in 2011, earning the Formula Renault 3.5 title, beating such luminaries as Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne, Brendon Hartley and Alexander Rossi. Moving to sports cars and GT racing in 2012, Wickens was part of the Mercedes-AMG factory program in DTM and scored six wins and 15 podiums in one of the more competitive sports-car oriented series in the world.
After a runner-up result in TCR this past season, Robert Wickens is making the big jump to IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in its most popular category, Grand Touring Daytona (GTD). He has aligned with DXDT Racing and will drive the team’s No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the five sprint contests scheduled for this upcoming season, starting with the 50th annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach next April.
For Wickens, this is a dream come true. “Since I began racing again, in the Michelin Pilot series, the goal has always been to make it to WeatherTech,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult, I’m well aware of that. Frankly, I want to be a professional driver again as I was prior to my accident and this is a massive step forward in that regard.”
The Bosch hand-control package is cornerstone of Wickens’ opportunity with DXDT. He first used this equipment on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during IMSA’s September Michelin Pilot Challenge race. The new system eliminates delays and friction associated with mechanical systems he’s used in the past on the Hyundai TCR; the new system allows him to experience more consistency and better response from both throttle and brake.
“The first key is Bosch,” Wickens acknowledged. “Coming to the table with their technology and lending a hand in allowing me the chance to drive other cars,” is optimal to his continuity in the sport. “I always had ambitions to move up into the WeatherTech series, but there was always a complicated discussion. It’s hard to sell myself and say, ‘Oh, by the way, you guys will have to engineer a brake system from scratch on top of everything else.’”
Bosch had the technology and was willing to share, giving him the opportunity to move to a higher level activity in the sport. Another key partner in Wickens’ new ride is Pratt Miller Motorsports, which has designed the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The DXDT team and Pratt Miller have taken the lead in adapting Bosch’s system to the No. 36 Corvette.
When Wickens went to the Pratt Miller shop and held the Corvette’s steering wheel, “It became real. And to see so much hard work going on behind the scenes, I think the average person doesn’t understand what goes into making this work. It’s not as simple as it might sound and, frankly, not as simple as I try to make it sound sometimes. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity and the support system around me.”
DXDT is coming off an impressive SRO GT World Challenge season, in which the team earned eight straight victories. DXDT are making their WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut this year and are preparing for the 36 hours of Florida: Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with a conventionally controlled Corvette, even as they prep another Z06 GT3.R for the 2025 SRO campaign. Along the way, the team is working to ensure the Bosch system is fully integrated into the GTD Corvette in time for Wickens’ Long Beach debut, with a full schedule of testing planned.
David Askew, DXDT team owner knows, “It’s always great when you can add a driver of Robert’s caliber to the team. He is a top driver and has shown, through drive and resilience, that nothing is out of reach, evidenced by his race wins and championship title in TCR. It’s certainly going to be a new challenge for all of us, but it’s one I’m so excited to take on. I know, with all the work by us, Bosch, GM and Pratt Miller this off-season, we’re in a good position to hit the ground running in Long Beach.”
GM’s director of its motorsports competition programs, Mark Stielow is “proud to be part of this effort. For many years, Corvette Racing and Bosch have worked together to drive innovation in motorsports, most notably through the Collision Avoidance System that is now common in sports car paddocks around the world. It means a tremendous amount for Robert and Bosch to choose the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and DXDT Racing, as they achieve their goal of making racing more inclusive to all competitors around the world, no matter the series or classification.
The co-driver for Wickens will be announced in the near future, the team stated.
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