A year on from making his first appearance in the Verizon IndyCar Series paddock, Robert Wickens topped final practice ahead of the Kohler Grand Prix at Road America.
Despite running off course in the later half of the session, Wickens posted a best time of 1:42.9915 and was the only drafter to break the 1:42 mark. Josef Newgarden, fastest in Friday’s practice sessions, posted the 13th fastest time in final practice.
Reinvigorated by an elusive victory in Detroit, Ryan Hunter-Reay sat behind Wickens by 0.1810 and continued a string of strong practice pace ahead of the afternoon’s qualifying session.
A late push by Alexander Rossi proved promising pace, managing one last run after Zach Veach lost control in the final minute. As the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner continues to seek redemption for lost opportunities throughout the season, he will look to carry this pace into qualifying as he posted the fourth fastest time.
Wickens’ Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate James Hinchcliffe posted the ninth fastest practice time. As of Friday’s sessions, the pair reminisced about Road America one year prior when Wickens had his first opportunity to drive an IndyCar with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
While Wickens did not compete in the 2017 Kohler Grand Prix, it laid the groundwork for his move to the series full-time with Hinchcliffe at the helm.
“I was his spy on the inside,” Hinchcliffe laughed. “Once his name was on everybody else's radar within the team, I tried to sit back. What I didn't want to happen is I didn't want people to think I was trying to get my buddy in the seat. I laid out all the facts. If you looked at everything on paper, the facts were this is the best available guy in the world for this car in the world.”
Wickens has proven Hinchcliffe’s assessments correct, posting two podiums in nine starts in his rookie season. While Wickens’ success has taken the series by storm, a full-time ride wasn’t his intention when he appeared at Road America in 2017.
“I was never always hoping for an IndyCar opportunity,” Wickens admits. “I was honestly completely content where I was. But then situations changed and I had to look for some new avenues to go racing.”
“IndyCar was my top prospect. It's what I probably wanted to do the most this season, given the new aero kits, given like IndyCar is always on the rise, other championships are starting to struggle a bit. I think the timing was right. Happy to be a part of it. Even more I'm happy that the results are coming in the first year.”
Qualifying for the Kohler Grand Prix at Road America begins at 4 pm ET.
