Robert Wickens has given his first update to his fans following his injury in the Verizon IndyCar Series race at Pocono Raceway last month. Wickens posted a video on Twitter from his hospital bed where he thanked everybody for the support he had received over the last few months. The 2018 IndyCar rookie of the year went on to promise that he would “work as hard as possible” to get back into a race car “as quickly as possible”.
Wickens was coming toward the end of a successful rookie campaign in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series when he was involved in a heavy crash at the start of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. Wickens made contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay, which saw Robert sent up into the outside catch fencing.
The crash saw Robert break both of his legs and his right arm, whilst also sustaining a bruised lung and spinal injuries. After several weeks and numerous surgeries, Wickens was transferred from the hospital in Pennsylvania to the IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. It was from his hospital bed in Indianapolis that Robert posted his video update today.
“It’s obviously been a long time since I’ve posted anything on social media,” Wickens said in the video today, “I just wanted to say all of your kind words and all of your positivity has meant the absolute world to me and my family. I’m in rehab now, trying to get back to 100 per cent as quickly as possible.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me. It’s going to be a very long road to recovery, and all I can is I’m going to promise you guys I’m going to work as hard as possible and train as hard as possible to make sure I’m back in a race car as quickly as possible. That’s all I can say for now.”
Wickens’ update comes just hours before the season finale of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series kicks off. Scott Dixon enters the event as the championship leader, twenty-nine points ahead of Alexander Rossi and eighty-one points clear of the Team Penske duo of Will Power and Josef Newgarden.
Wickens will no doubt be keeping an eye on his team, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, with James Hinchcliffe and Robert’s replacement Carlos Munoz vying for a strong end to the season despite both drivers starting deep in the field.
“I just want to say good luck to everyone at Sonoma this weekend,” Robert said at the end of his video update, “I’m going to be watching on my TV here.”
An estimated recovery time for Wickens cannot even be guessed at this point, but Schmidt Peterson Motorsports have stated in the last few weeks that they will have a car ready and waiting for him whenever he is able to get back behind the wheel.
Everyone here at The Checkered Flag continues to wish Robert a full and speedy recovery. We look forward to seeing him back on the grid in the future.
