Former NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Robert Wickens is back competing at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The Canadian who first competed here with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2017 but in 2018, he suffered life changing injuries at as a result of a horrendous crash at Pocono Raceway.
Robert returned to INDYCAR as a driver advisor to Arrow McLaren.
In 2025, Wickens will continue in his role as technical advisor to Andretti Global and is with the team in Long Beach this weekend.
Speaking ahead of qualifying for the IMSA race in Long Beach, Wickens said:
First off, it’s great just to be back. I’ve had the privilege of racing here in IndyCar in 2018 and then being here every other year that IndyCar’s been here with the coaching roles that I do with Andretti Global and IndyCar. So I feel like I’ve experienced this culture for so many years, but to be putting on a fire suit and sitting in the car again, I feel like I’m home where I belong. It’s just such an amazing event, the track obviously has so much history, the 50th anniversary this year… I think everyone wants to win to kind of be a part of that milestone. Regardless of the category, whether it’s been Formula 1 races, CART races, IndyCar races, Champ Car races, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, I think every driver wants to win here because just being on the podium, it’s just an historic place. The track is amazing. It’s raw, it’s unforgiving and you have to commit to put the lap in. For me, I think that’s the next step, I felt like I got to a point in that first session, where without risking the car, I needed to kind of see a lap of data to understand how to go quicker. So I’m just really excited for Practice Two here coming up in a little bit and try to make it a big step forward.”