Robert Wickens marked a major career milestone as he returned to the wheel of a single-seater for the first time since sustaining a serious spinal cord injury during an IndyCar race in 2018.
The 35-year-old Canadian drove the electric Formula E racing car a few laps around the Portland circuit, but it was not just a demo drive. Robert sought to test his abilities and assess the prospects for a full return to formula racing in the future.
He completed eleven laps and this was his first experience driving Formula E equipment.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to drive the third generation car (GEN3),” said Wickens. “I’ve been following Formula E for a long time but I didn’t know how to approach it. A big thank you to Formula E and SPARK for developing a manual control system that will allow me to get behind the wheel of one of these cars in Portland.
I only did a few laps, but the experience was a real pleasure and now I want to continue it. I hope I will have such an opportunity in the future, for example as part of beginner tests. I think I have to set myself a specific goal: to be at the start of a Formula E race in the future.”
After the injury, Robert was left partially paralyzed, but he showed enormous willpower and determination, which allowed him to return to touring car racing after an intensive rehabilitation period that lasted almost four years and even became champion of the American IMSA series in the TCR class last year.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
