Former IndyCar driver Robert Wickens is making his return to top series racing come 2025, running five GTD class sprint races for DXDT Racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Wickens has run the past three-seasons in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving for Bryan Herta Autosport in the TCR class and captured a 2023 class championship during his tenure.
The 35-year-old Canadian driver has made a steady climb back towards notable top-level racing since his scary in-race accident at Pocono back in 2018 which resulted in him becoming diagnosed with paraplegia. This would force Wickens to step away from the seat for three seasons before returning to racing in 2022 for the Hyundai-backed TCR team.
Since then, Wickens has been able to retool himself with a hand braking system that has since been redeveloped by Bosch towards the end of this season which has allowed for an opportunity such as this one to become possible.
“It’s a dream opportunity,” he said in the press release. “Since I began racing again in the Michelin Pilot series the goal has always been to make it to WeatherTech. 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.”
Wickens explained the updated braking system this afternoon during his scheduled press conference regarding the announcement, citing that “the Bosch electronic braking system is relatively plug and play.”
He would go on by stating that “the system is the same. The EBS modules are the same as we were using in the TCR car. But then adapting it into a different car, there’s always a level of adjustment. The function that we’re going to be running, the Bosch EBS, will be slightly different again to what we were running in TCR. So, we’re going to be doing a full brake-by-wire system, which with the help of General Motors, Pratt & Miller, and Bosch, all three kind of working in unity. So, I’ve been to Pratt & Miller already, and I saw kind of the 3D-printed rapid production concept of the steering wheel and the hand controls and kind of fine-tuning stuff and it’s tailor-made. So, it’s a unique situation. Not many drivers can tailor-make their throttle and brake and everything to how they want unless you’re driving in Formula 1 or something. It’s been a cool journey so far.”
For Wickens, this venture within IMSA’s top series may see his departure from the Michelin Pilot Challenge with current plans for next season up in the air at the moment, but it is an chance that the veteran driver said he is humbly grateful for.
As for a desire of still wanting to run in an open-wheel seat, Wickens states there is a want to run another Indy 500 or potentially jump into a Formula E ride, but that he would be content if he had a 10-year career in a GT3 entry.
Wickens will make his WeatherTech Championship debut at Long Beach and will run at Laguna Seca, Road America, CTMP and VIR to close out his season long campaign in hopes of running a full schedule in 2026.