‘Vibe’ feels right for Wickens at first Honda Indy
TORONTO — They weren’t exactly empty celebrations, but each time Robert Wickens celebrated a race win in victory lane, he did so somewhat anonymously.
Wickens, a former karting sensation out of Guelph, Ont., enjoyed immense success throughout a decade in Europe, capturing race victories in various series, including a Formula Renault 3.5 Series championship in 2011, as well as a half-dozen wins with Mercedes in the German-based DTM touring car series.
Wickens had his crew and he had his wins, but it always felt like something was missing.
“When I was racing in Europe, I had a lot of races that were regarded as a very important race, but for me it was just another race because I didn’t have support with me,” the 29-year-old said. “I had a lot of races where, say, in the past Mercedes had won there the past 10 years and there was kind of some added pressure to keep that streak alive. And fortunately I could rise to the top and get that result. I won consecutive years in a row for them. It was all a great time, but for me it was just another race because I didn’t have that hometown feel.”
On Sunday, Wickens will finally get his wish. The series rookie will race in IndyCar for the first time at home and in his enthusiastic words, “nothing is going to relate to what Toronto is going to feel like.”
Indeed, while his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate, eightyear IndyCar veteran James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., has overcome many obstacles along the way — namely a near-fatal collision at the Indianapolis 500 in 2015 — Wickens has taken the long road to IndyCar.
Having earlier in his career been passed over in Formula One, Wickens packed his belongings and bided his time in Europe before an opportunity finally came to fruition last fall that saw him join SPM thanks to some heavy recruiting help from Hinchcliffe, his childhood friend.
“All year, the whole winter when I signed to come to IndyCar, there were three races that I was really looking forward to. The first one was (the season-opening race in) St. Petersburg, just because it was going to be my first-ever IndyCar race. The next one was the Indy 500 because, well, to be frank, it’s the friggin’ Indy 500. Pretty self-explanatory,” Wickens said. “And the next one, it’s racing in Toronto. I was born in Etobicoke, lived in Guelph my entire life. It’s just going to be special.”
It won’t be Wickens’ first time on the Toronto street course. Aside from regularly attending the event as a youngster, he raced along the lakeshore in 2007 with the Champ Car Atlantic series.
“But you know, you don’t really get that same vibe,” Wickens said. “I’ve been racing in Europe for so long that for a lot of friends and family this is going to be their first opportunity to see me work, to see me race.”