Wickens was poised to become one of IndyCar’s stars when he suffered a horrific crash during the Pocono race that left him with a broken spine in 2018 along with other serious injuries to the rib cage, neck, tibia and fibula of both legs. There was a serious bone injury. Also multiple ribs in both hands, right arm, lung injury and concussion.
After several operations and a very difficult recovery, he has recovered from all of them, except for the spine, with which muscle problems have limited the functionality of his legs. Although he is able to stand upright, he uses a wheelchair to get around.
“I think running the 500 would be amazing. No one has ever run with a disability. I never thought this would be my legacy, but to be able to do it and to be able to do that with spinal injuries It would be great to help raise awareness,” Wickens said.
Wickens is currently racing in the IMSA series reserved for TCRs in a specially adapted Hyundai by Brian Herta’s team from 2021 and has taken several victories.
is a regular in the Canadian IndyCar paddock. He practices the tasks of ‘coach’ for McLaren and remembers that it is possible, not in vain thanks to Alex Zanardi, who had both legs amputated in a CART race at Lausitzring, and his Thank you for having the opportunity to test drive a customized car. In fact, he did it at the Lausitzring with 13 laps left to complete the race when he suffered a crash.
Wickens is already looking for funding. And above all thinking about how to do it. The first problem is to customize the car. The accessories that now allow you to drive a Hyundai are useless, they are too bulky and heavy. But above all there is a second problem: to see if Robert is able to get out of the car quickly and without help in the manner established by the rules. Knowing what he has done to reach here, he is able to achieve this, although he has to train hard.
IndyCar is open to the idea, to support it, although it clearly wants to be sure Wickens is capable of doing it and can do it safely for itself and its rivals.
