It is fantastic to see him racing at the Nürburgring 24. I am hoping for a great run for him and the team.
Photography courtesy Hyundai
Competing in the Nürburgring 24 is hard enough for any driver, but Robert Wickens plans to tackle the (in)famous endurance race with an added layer of difficulty: He won’t be using his feet.
Instead, Wickens, who lost the ability to use his legs in 2018 after an incident during an IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway, will use hand controls. Since his accident, Wickens has gone on to win the 2023 TCR Championship.
While the 2025 Nürburgring 24 won’t be the first time Wickens has raced at the famed German circuit–he last competed in 2018, before he became paralyzed–it will be the racer’s first time competing with hand controls.
“As an athlete, I'm constantly seeking ways to push myself and explore new opportunities to grow and hone my skills,” said Wickens. “I'm always striving to be the best version of myself, both on and off the track. Hyundai, Bosch and Bryan Herta Autosport have an incredible team spirit and I'm thrilled for this chance to return and compete in one of the world's most demanding endurance races.”
Wickens planned to compete in the 2024 race, but, as Bryan Herta explained, “[It’s] like the world was against us,” Bryan Herta explained. “Last year, we had corner worker strikes and all kinds of things that prevented us from being able to complete the licensing requirements to get [Wickens] qualified.”
The timing is going to be close, as Wickens heads out to the Nürburgring later this month to get his A permit–the missing piece of the puzzle that prevented him from racing last year–followed by the qualifiers in May.
If all goes according to plan, he’ll then race an Elantra N TCR with a soon-to-be-announced driver lineup.
“There'll be a number of familiar name, both from our IMSA team and past, present, and again, future” said Herta. “So we've got a really exciting lineup that that we can't wait to share, but for now, keeping the focus with Robert.”
We previously covered how the previous version of his hand control system worked. Now Wickens operates a system Bosch helped develop, and it makes use of an electronic brake system module initially developed for an LMDh prototype racer coupled with a new display and Bosch’s “latest trusted controls platform.”
The ADAC RAVENOL 24 Hours Nürburgring is set for June 21-22.
It is fantastic to see him racing at the Nürburgring 24. I am hoping for a great run for him and the team.
In reply to tarach :
Agreed. Something Wickens said during a press conference yesterday stood out to me that really puts the difficulty of the race into perspective:
I know, personally, some drivers and colleagues of mine that have done five to 10 attempts at this race, and they've never even finished it yet.
It was a real bummer last year when he missed out on getting his Nurburgring ticket punched. Of course that only meant he missed one of the weirdest races on record with the fog shortening. I'm looking forward to getting to chat with him there this year and check out the hand controls.
He does have an unfair advantage, however. He is driving the most excellent racing sedan ever created: the Elantra N TCR. A 4-time 'Ring winner, multiple global championships, and all-around beast. Although I may be biased a bit.
No question that Robert Wickens has determination, and that'll take you far in a 24-hour race.
The IMSA YouTube channel posted an interview with him explaining/showing how the hand controls work in the Corvette he's racing with Tommy Milner. Seems like Bosch deserves a lot of credit for developing the systems.
I wish him all the luck; that race, the difference in classes/cars, the stacked/shared pits, the weather, and that track are an absolutely crazy combination. A deliciously crazy combination.
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