Robert Wickens is a driver that exemplifies what it means to never give up. After being severely injured in a crash at Pocono last season, Wickens was left paralyzed from the waist down. Beginning his journey to recovery, Wickens knew he would be back in a car sooner rather than later and has been working towards that goal ever since.
With the NTT IndyCar Series’ first and only stop in Canada this weekend, Wickens’ sponsor Arrow Electronics knew this was the perfect time to get Wickens back in a car. Wickens, a native of Guelph, Canada, will drive a special Acura NSX fitted with hand controls for the parade laps of this years Honda Indy Toronto.
The new and improved No. 6 is equipped with upgraded technology, and with @RobertWickens back behind the wheel, these simple modifications will make the Acura NSX debut in Toronto a ride to remember. pic.twitter.com/hmkyXSDdcA
— Arrow Electronics (@ArrowGlobal) July 8, 2019
“I’m just so excited to get a helmet on and go around in an amazing car” Wickens said in a Twitter video.
Wickens finished third in last year’s event, eventually going on to win 2018 Rookie of the Year honours.
For Arrow Electronics and Schmidt Petersen Motorsports this isn’t the first time they have been able to accomplish this. In 2014, they were able to build a custom Chevrolet Corvette Strigray that was controlled with head movement, voice commands, and by mouth sip/puff actions for team owner and quadriplegic Sam Schmidt.
I’M GETTING BACK IN A CAR! I’ll be doing the parade lap for the @hondaindy! This is just amazing and couldn’t happen without the help of @arrowelectronics installing the hand controls and @HondaRacing_HPD trusting me with such an awesome car! #IndyTO #ArrowDriven #SCIrecovery pic.twitter.com/mmaTIlrxCW
— Robert Wickens (@robertwickens) July 8, 2019
The green flag for the 2019 Hondy Indy Toronto will drop Sunday July 14 at 3:30 p.m. EST.
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