Paralyzed in an IndyCar race, Robert Wickens opens up on his racing return

Robert Wickens has opened up about his return to racing years following his horrific accident that left him paraplegic. The Canadian driver suffered this career-threatening injury during the IndyCar ABC Supply 500 Grand Prix at the Pocono Raceway on August 19, 2018.

The 36-year-old, who was making waves through the 2018 IndyCar season, suffered his horrific injury after banging wheels with Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay—an incident that launched Wickens’s car into the catch fence and caused him to suffer fractures to his spine, right forearm, and leg, alongside a pulmonary contusion.

Almost seven years after the incident, Robert Wickens is set to return to active racing at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Long Beach circuit. The former DTM driver is set to represent DXDT Racing alongside co-driver Tommy Milner.

Sharing his thoughts about his return to active racing, the former Formula 1 test driver, in an interview with motorsport expert Bob Pockrass, detailed how pleasing it feels to return to racing. Wickens also mentioned that he still feels the same sensation with cars as he did prior to his accident.

Speaking in a video shared to X (formerly Twitter) by the journalist, Wickens stated:

“Honestly, I do. And I know, like, when I was paralyzed, everyone was like, ‘Oh, how are you gonna feel the car if you can’t feel your legs?’ The first time I drove a car, in 2021, that was the first thing I noticed: I had a bit of oversteer, and I felt exactly the same, like nothing changed.”

"Although I’m driving with my hands now, the feeling of understeer or oversteer, or pushing the car to the limit, that never changed.” (00:06 - 00:33)

Speaking about his racing return coinciding with the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach, Robert Wickens stated:

“Making my debut in Long Beach this weekend, given that I was paralyzed in IndyCar and that the IMSA WeatherTech series is sharing the weekend with IndyCar, you know, personally it’s a pretty fitting place to make my debut.” (2:27 onwards).

Prior to his unfortunate accident in 2018, Robert Wickens had a motorsport career that was, indeed, the envy of many. The Canadian was involved in the Formula 1, Formula 2, and Formula 3 championships during his formative years and was crowned Rookie of the Year in his debut IndyCar season. The 36-year-old also took part in DTM racing with the Mercedes-Benz Junior team.

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Robert Wickens speaks on winning IMSA championship

Robert Wickens driving at the IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship - Roar Before the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA - Source: Getty

Robert Wickens also touched upon his desire to win the IMSA Championship following his return to racing. The former IndyCar driver is also hoping to secure a full-time seat in the touring car racing series for the 2026 season.

Sharing his thoughts with Bob Pockrass ahead of his debut race, the 36-year-old detailed:

"So I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT. There's still some work to be done. I think you could say it's definitely a massive box to check, probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return."

The IMSA race for Wickens is largely viewed as a major step toward his return to active full-time racing. He is also hopeful that the ever-evolving advancement in technology will further aid his return and adaptation to racing.

In the meantime, while the Ontario-born driver seeks a seat on the 2026 IMSA grid, he remains active in the IndyCar racing series as a driver coach for the Andretti Autosport team.