Yet another motorsports innovation has made its debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This one came Saturday in the form of Robert Wickens competing in a sports car race using an electronic hand-controlled brake system designed by Bosch.
Paralyzed in a racing accident in 2018, Wickens has used hand controls for the past three racing seasons, winning last year’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR (Touring Car) championship. But this braking system offers a dramatically improved response rate, which in addition to making Wickens more competitive now will likely allow him – and other disabled drivers who follow – to compete in additional motorsports categories in the future.
Ultimately, Wickens wants to see drivers like him competing at the top levels of sports car racing, specifically the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship which will stage its penultimate race of the season, the six-hour TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, on Sunday at IMS. The green flag for the 56-car field is set for 11:40 a.m. ET.
“It provides opportunity,” Wickens said of the new braking system that emanated from the Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDh) class. “I think it’s safe to say that the system we developed with Bryan Herta Autosport and Hyundai (has a) ceiling that’s more or less at the level of the TCR category. But I’ve always had ambitions to have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of racing in IMSA or even other professional categories around the world, frankly.”
Wickens got his first opportunity to experiment with the Bosch system in straight-line testing in the spring, and he had his first road course test last month at the Putnam Park Road Course west of Indianapolis. The benefits were immediately apparent, he said, even as he admits to needing more time to become proficient with it. For example, the previous system required both hands, this one only the right.
“In the previous system, I had a pneumatic actuator to help me apply more brake pressure because I can only squeeze so hard with my hands,” said the former NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver who finished ninth in the 2018 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. “Now, I basically have all the pressure I want when I want it as if I’m an able-body driver again. From a competitive standpoint, it’s a big step forward in my journey.”
The previous braking system was positioned where a passenger’s seat would be. This system fits in the door. Every cockpit has a different geography demand, but Jordan Krell, senior applications engineer for Bosch Motorsport, said the modular design should fit all.
Said Wickens: “Although there will always be adaptations from car to car, this Bosch system is the base of something that I can take from one car to the next. It (reduces) the time demand of having to test another car substantially, and it reduces the financial risk of the next team owner to develop something that doesn’t exist (for that category).”
“(This) is not a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination, but it does give me a chance. I’ve explained it to so many people: In my prior career, I was an underfunded driver with a helmet trying to convince team bosses like Bryan Herta to give me a chance. With my paralysis, I just can’t do that anymore. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of people and a full support system around you to achieve that.”
Wickens is quick to note that this innovation is as much about others as himself.
“We’re trying to make equal opportunity for all unabled-body drivers, and that includes myself,” he said. “When I’m done in my career, I can hold my head high to have created an easier path for the next generation of disabled drivers trying to find their way to the highest levels of motorsport.”
Wickens and co-driver Harry Gottsacker finished second in class in Saturday’s race at IMS in the No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian. First to cross the line was a sister car driven by Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi.
Indy 500, INDYCAR Veterans Set for Sunday’s Race
In addition to Wickens, there are a host of Indianapolis 500 veterans competing this weekend, including seven in Sunday’s six-hour race.
Sebastien Bourdais won the pole for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, giving Cadillac Racing’s No. 01 the top position at 1 minute, 14.592 seconds.
Tom Blomqvist is part of the Whelen Cadillac Racing No. 31 entry that starts fourth. Romain Grosjean’s 10th-place qualifying effort for Lamborghini Iron Lynx’s Lamborghini SC 63 included a spin in the Turn 8-9 section of the road course.
In LMP2, Hunter McElrea, who finished second in INDY NXT by Firestone in 2023, is part of TDS Racing’s No. 11 ORECA that qualified second in class. Ben Hanley is a member of United Autosports USA’s No. 2 ORECA that will roll off third. Matthew Brabham is in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA that starts third.
In GTD Pro, Jack Hawksworth qualified 11th in Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3. Devlin DeFrancesco qualified sixth in GTD in the No. 78 Forte Racing’s Lamborghini Huracan GT3 4 9 V02. Jarett Andretti is part of the No. 43 Porsche 911 of Andretti Motorsports that will start 19th in GTD.
GTP Championship Leaders Start Off Front Row
Porsche Penske Motorsport has the top two drivers in IMSA’s top class, but the four drivers of the Porsche 963s will have work to do in Sunday’s race if they are to take another step toward a 1-2 season finish.
Mathieu Jaminet qualified the No. 6 car in the third position while Felipe Nasr put the No. 7 in the seventh spot. The No. 7 car holds a 100-point lead over its sister car, which is 85 points ahead of the No. 01 in the standings. Bourdais shares his Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared car with Renger van der Zande and will start on the pole for the season’s next-to-last race.
Jaminet and Nick Tandy won last year’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks by 17.421 seconds over Nasr and Matt Campbell. Nasr shares this year’s No. 7 car with Dane Cameron.
