Robert Wickens Crashes at Nürburgring, Reported Stable at Hospital
Entering the weekend, Robert Wickens was excited to race at Nürburgring, a bucket-list track for the racer. While racing the Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) Hyundai Elantra N TCR in the first race of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie 2024 season, a crash around the halfway mark in NLS race 1 sent Wickens to the hospital at 4:36 p.m. CEST.
He has since been announced stable but will remain in a local hospital in Koblenz overnight for 'precautionary observation.'
With 1 hour and 19 minutes remaining in the race, the commentators tried to make sense of a car that found its way off track at the end of a lap. While the crash is not shown due to sensitivity to the driver, you can hear the call start at the 3:25:25 mark of the video.
Wickens's Elantra went over the barriers after hitting the safety tires at the end of the Döttinger Hohe stretch and landed back on all four tires. At this point, it's unknown what caused the incident.
A spokesperson for BHA told RACER.com that Wickens was experiencing slight discomfort in his chest after the crash.
— Bryan Herta Autosport (@BHA) April 6, 2024
The 35-year-old has not had an easy life in racing. In his rookie season with IndyCar, halfway through an astonishing season that included a win at St. Petersburg, Wickens lost the use of his legs after a horrific crash in the 2018 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. Thanks to years of physical therapy and determination, he returned to racing as a paraplegia driver due to the developments in hand controls.
Robert Winkens is back! 💥
The former Mercedes-AMG works driver and IndyCar driver is back in Germany. After his serious racing accident in 2018, the Canadian fought his way back into the cockpit. With a paraplegia.
He will contest his first race on the Nordschleife this weekend. pic.twitter.com/veuX7YfkT6— Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (@vln_de) April 4, 2024
Wickens aims to race in the 24 Hours at Nürburgring, which will take place this year the weekend of May 30th. This is another setback for the persistent Canadian driver.
In 2022, his first year racing full-time since his accident, he joined up with BHA to race for a championship in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Road & Track joined Wickens at Sebring in his return season; Wickens would go on to win at Watkins Glen and Mosport that year.
Wickens has built a successful career as a driver both pre and post accident. While this accident is disheartening, chances are it is not the last we'll see of Wickens behind the wheel.
He's determined to leave racing on his terms, and when he does, he will continue to help build the sport as a driver's coach with his former IndyCar team.
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