Canadian racing driver Robert Wickens made his long awaited if virtual return to competitive IndyCar racing this weekend, lining up on the grid for the second round of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge.
Wickens had been left unable to walk after suffering spinal damage in a serious accident in the 2018 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
However this weekend he was able to use a Simcraft racing setup with specially adapted hand controls to work the throttle and brakes allowing him to take part in the Esports Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on a simulated Barber Motorsports Park race track.
He was competing for Arrows McLaren SP against some of the current top IndyCar drivers including Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, Sage Karam, James Hinchcliffe and Ed Carpenter.
Despite crashing in qualifying, which meant he was forced to start at the back of the 29-car grid, Wickens put in one of the drives of the day and ended up crossing the finish line in eighth place, even after surviving a wild ride through the gravel at one point mid-race.
“My return to IndyCar was exactly how I imagined it — in my basement!" laughed Wickens, in a post-race interview with the regular NBCSports IndyCar presenting line-up of Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy.
© Twitter.com / Arrows McLaren SP
“No I’m kidding, it was a riot," he continued. "First off I was so mad at myself in qualifying. I had an okay lap going — I was on route to 1:06s, and then I spun out in the last corner, which I had never done the entire time I’ve been on the sim!
"That screwed up one whole lap, so I didn’t do a lap," he sighed. "I started last and we made the bold strategy of trying to make it on the one stop under yellow.
"I thought that I was giving my best race, primarily because when I was saving fuel there was a better chance of me not spinning out!"
Wickens and his team cut it fine, with just 0.02 gallons left in the tank when he finally got to the end of the 45-lap race.
“It was a good teamwork. It was great to have the Arrow McLaren SP engineer in my ear the whole time. In a way, it felt like a real thing.
"I can’t thank SimCraft enough for giving me this rig," he continued. "I feel like I have an advantage on my competitors for the quality of sim that I have in the home.
“I’ll take that in my pocket and keep working with these hand controls,” he added, although that didn't mean he wasn't eyeing some extra hardware. "I can’t wait to try Max Papis’ steering wheel, an MPI steering wheel that I didn’t get a chance to try before this race."
I’m getting back into a race car...virtually! Tmrw 2:30 EST @IndyCar @iRacing challenge! I can’t thank these guys enough for helping me get everything sorted. @SimCraft @sparco_official @arrowmclarensp Arrow Electronics @aero_paint @maxpapis #simcraft #INDYCARChallenge pic.twitter.com/v8vCFnRWQZ
— Robert Wickens (@robertwickens) April 4, 2020
Now that he's entered the virtual arena, Wickens certainly sounds firmly hooked by the whole concept and challenge of Esports, and can't wait for next week's iRacing event at Michigan International Speedway..
"I’m just excited - I got in the top ten, so I think that was a good day," he said. "My eyes are burning though - I might need to invest in some of those blue light glasses!"
Wickens was the top-ranked driver of the Arrows McLaren SP squad. Current Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew finished the race in 15th place, while Patricio O'Ward dropped out of the race with seven laps to go.
"There goes my virtual self and race," O'Ward posted on Twitter after his retirement.
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