Sunday
Jan162022
JANUARY 19, 2022
Sunday, January 16, 2022 at 08:59AM Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out this link to see the entry list for the 2022 Daytona 24 Hours. - PMD
(Hyundai)
Three-time International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) Champions, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) and Hyundai Motor North America, announced they have signed Robert Wickens to co-drive the No. 33 Elantra N TCR racecar. Wickens will drive with fellow Canadian champion Mark Wilkins in the 2022 IMPC. “Today is a monumental day for us as a team and as fans of Robert Wickens,” said Bryan Herta, president of BHA. “We have followed along with Robert’s rehabilitation and marveled at his determination and dedication, along with his many, many fans. To now announce that he will be making his professional motorsports return in one of our Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars is truly incredible. We thank Hyundai for their amazing support and helping us build a path for Robert to get back to where he belongs.” In May of 2021, Wickens successfully evaluated the BHA No. 54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR using hand controls. It was his first time driving a race car after 989 days of rehabilitation following an IndyCar accident that left him paralyzed in 2018. Wickens will return to competition, taking the green flag at the IMPC season opener, a four-hour endurance race commencing the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 28. “I’ve spent a lot of nights thinking and dreaming of this moment, and with the support from Bryan Herta and Hyundai it is all becoming a reality,” said Wickens. “I am hungrier now than I was before my accident to compete for wins again! I’m really looking forward to incorporating myself with the entire Bryan Herta Autosport team and finally get my first taste of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR.” Wickens, a former Formula One test driver, took the American IndyCar scene by storm as a rookie in 2018. He won the pole position and led all but two laps in his first IndyCar race, went on to score four podium finishes and earned the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honor, all in his first 12 IndyCar races in 2018. Race number 13 of his stellar rookie IndyCar season changed his life forever. Wickens was involved in an accident on lap 7 at Pocono Raceway, where he suffered a thoracic spinal fracture, spinal cord injury, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, fractures in both hands, a fractured right forearm, fractured elbow, a concussion, four fractured ribs and a pulmonary contusion. Since the accident, Wickens’ perseverance and persistence have led to triumphant breakthroughs in his relentless regimes of physical rehabilitation and therapy that continues daily. Wickens and his team of therapists and trainers have become trailblazers in developing innovative technology and treatment methods for the spinal cord injury community.
The No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR has been fitted with a custom hand-control system designed by BHA Technical Director David Brown and Development Technician Jonathan Gormley. The system features a custom metal ring connected to the brake pedal by a series of rods specifically tailored to the Elantra. The ring is attached behind the steering wheel that is pulled with fingers to activate the brake. Two linked throttle paddles and shift paddles, all attached behind the steering wheel, allow the driver to accelerate, shift and make steering inputs. The system also features a switch for Mark Wilkins when he takes over the cockpit in pitstops that deactivates the hand throttle. The Elantra will accelerate and brake using the traditional foot pedals when Wilkins is driving. The 2022 season kicks off with the season opening test days, the “Roar Before the Rolex 24,” at Daytona International Speedway, Jan. 21-23, 2022. Round one of the 2022 IMPC season takes place the following weekend with the BMW Endurance Challenge, a four-hour race during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.
Three-time International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) Champions, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) and Hyundai Motor North America, announced they have signed Robert Wickens to co-drive the No. 33 Elantra N TCR racecar. Wickens will drive with fellow Canadian champion Mark Wilkins in the 2022 IMPC. “Today is a monumental day for us as a team and as fans of Robert Wickens,” said Bryan Herta, president of BHA. “We have followed along with Robert’s rehabilitation and marveled at his determination and dedication, along with his many, many fans. To now announce that he will be making his professional motorsports return in one of our Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars is truly incredible. We thank Hyundai for their amazing support and helping us build a path for Robert to get back to where he belongs.” In May of 2021, Wickens successfully evaluated the BHA No. 54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR using hand controls. It was his first time driving a race car after 989 days of rehabilitation following an IndyCar accident that left him paralyzed in 2018. Wickens will return to competition, taking the green flag at the IMPC season opener, a four-hour endurance race commencing the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 28. “I’ve spent a lot of nights thinking and dreaming of this moment, and with the support from Bryan Herta and Hyundai it is all becoming a reality,” said Wickens. “I am hungrier now than I was before my accident to compete for wins again! I’m really looking forward to incorporating myself with the entire Bryan Herta Autosport team and finally get my first taste of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR.” Wickens, a former Formula One test driver, took the American IndyCar scene by storm as a rookie in 2018. He won the pole position and led all but two laps in his first IndyCar race, went on to score four podium finishes and earned the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honor, all in his first 12 IndyCar races in 2018. Race number 13 of his stellar rookie IndyCar season changed his life forever. Wickens was involved in an accident on lap 7 at Pocono Raceway, where he suffered a thoracic spinal fracture, spinal cord injury, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, fractures in both hands, a fractured right forearm, fractured elbow, a concussion, four fractured ribs and a pulmonary contusion. Since the accident, Wickens’ perseverance and persistence have led to triumphant breakthroughs in his relentless regimes of physical rehabilitation and therapy that continues daily. Wickens and his team of therapists and trainers have become trailblazers in developing innovative technology and treatment methods for the spinal cord injury community.
The No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR has been fitted with a custom hand-control system designed by BHA Technical Director David Brown and Development Technician Jonathan Gormley. The system features a custom metal ring connected to the brake pedal by a series of rods specifically tailored to the Elantra. The ring is attached behind the steering wheel that is pulled with fingers to activate the brake. Two linked throttle paddles and shift paddles, all attached behind the steering wheel, allow the driver to accelerate, shift and make steering inputs. The system also features a switch for Mark Wilkins when he takes over the cockpit in pitstops that deactivates the hand throttle. The Elantra will accelerate and brake using the traditional foot pedals when Wilkins is driving. The 2022 season kicks off with the season opening test days, the “Roar Before the Rolex 24,” at Daytona International Speedway, Jan. 21-23, 2022. Round one of the 2022 IMPC season takes place the following weekend with the BMW Endurance Challenge, a four-hour race during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.
THE STATE OF THE SPORT.
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Even though motorsport is constantly churning and changing - it is the nature of the game after all - there are a lot of things moving in a positive direction for the sport coming into the 2022 season. The NTT INDYCAR Series continues to impress, with top-caliber teams and driving talent, this series is moving from strength to strength. It's clear we're in the midst of another heyday for major league open-wheel racing right now in this country, so I recommend enjoying it in the moment while it's as good as it gets. The one glaring black cloud that keeps hovering over the series is the lack of a third engine manufacturer. I view this as key to taking this series to the next level, and unless and until it happens, INDYCAR will keep bumping against the rev limiter.
IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship is chugging along, heading toward the onset of new cars and regulations coming in 2023. But we have a season to go before that happens, and it should be a good one, with the combined GTD Pro and Am field bursting at the seams. Not that the action in the top Prototype class won't be compelling as well, especially with the all-star driver lineups slated for the longer distance races. Though the 2022 IMSA season could be viewed as a "running-in-place" year, that doesn't mean that the racing won't be exceptional and worth viewing.
As most readers know by now, I don't spend much time writing about NASCAR these days. Yes, I appreciate the chances being taken by the powers that be in Daytona Beach with its schedule and especially with the addition of more road races, particularly at Road America. And I really think the new car is a giant leap forward for a change, but the fact remains that the NASCAR schedule is one of the most tedious in all of sports. And when you think about it that's really saying something, especially with the likes of the NBA, NHL and MLB in operation. I've said this oh, at least one hundred times on this website before, but the NASCAR schedule should be no more than 25 races, all-in, and that is with all of the new road races left in the schedule. Until the NASCAR honchos get serious about substantially reducing its schedule, I can't get serious about covering it. I will always watch the NASCAR road races, but there should only be three "long" NASCAR races - The Daytona 500, The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington - everything else needs to be reduced. That means that the 400-mile NASCAR races need to be reduced to 300 miles across the board. The powers that be in Daytona Beach have never understood the concept of "less is more." But I highly recommend that they embrace the concept before it's too late.
As for F1, I haven't bothered to conceal my disdain for this alleged "pinnacle" of motorsport for years now. I find that the cars are tedious to look at it and depressing to listen to. The whole race weekend orchestration in F1 is antiseptic and relentlessly boring. And F1's propensity to go where the money is has destroyed what little integrity was left in the sport. The 2022 F1 schedule is ridiculously long and overblown, with F1 starting to rival NASCAR for schedule stupidity. People inside the sport of F1 are insisting things will be really good by 2024, but who has that kind of time? And I'm not buying this "It won't be long now!" optimism anyway, because left to its own devices F1 will always screw things up, just like they did in the last race of the 2021 season.
As for MotoGP, it remains my favorite form of motorsport. The sheer artistry of the riders and their incredible ability to control those powerful machines remains a sight to behold. I don't miss a race - whether "live" or recorded - and I look forward to the new season with unbridled anticipation.
In closing, I just hope for a safe season for all forms of racing. It remains the most dangerous of pursuits, whether you're competing at the top rung of the sport or at your local bull ring. And thank you ahead of time to all of the volunteers and racing organizers - and especially the corner workers - because without their collective efforts there would be no racing to enjoy.
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Even though motorsport is constantly churning and changing - it is the nature of the game after all - there are a lot of things moving in a positive direction for the sport coming into the 2022 season. The NTT INDYCAR Series continues to impress, with top-caliber teams and driving talent, this series is moving from strength to strength. It's clear we're in the midst of another heyday for major league open-wheel racing right now in this country, so I recommend enjoying it in the moment while it's as good as it gets. The one glaring black cloud that keeps hovering over the series is the lack of a third engine manufacturer. I view this as key to taking this series to the next level, and unless and until it happens, INDYCAR will keep bumping against the rev limiter.
IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship is chugging along, heading toward the onset of new cars and regulations coming in 2023. But we have a season to go before that happens, and it should be a good one, with the combined GTD Pro and Am field bursting at the seams. Not that the action in the top Prototype class won't be compelling as well, especially with the all-star driver lineups slated for the longer distance races. Though the 2022 IMSA season could be viewed as a "running-in-place" year, that doesn't mean that the racing won't be exceptional and worth viewing.
As most readers know by now, I don't spend much time writing about NASCAR these days. Yes, I appreciate the chances being taken by the powers that be in Daytona Beach with its schedule and especially with the addition of more road races, particularly at Road America. And I really think the new car is a giant leap forward for a change, but the fact remains that the NASCAR schedule is one of the most tedious in all of sports. And when you think about it that's really saying something, especially with the likes of the NBA, NHL and MLB in operation. I've said this oh, at least one hundred times on this website before, but the NASCAR schedule should be no more than 25 races, all-in, and that is with all of the new road races left in the schedule. Until the NASCAR honchos get serious about substantially reducing its schedule, I can't get serious about covering it. I will always watch the NASCAR road races, but there should only be three "long" NASCAR races - The Daytona 500, The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington - everything else needs to be reduced. That means that the 400-mile NASCAR races need to be reduced to 300 miles across the board. The powers that be in Daytona Beach have never understood the concept of "less is more." But I highly recommend that they embrace the concept before it's too late.
As for F1, I haven't bothered to conceal my disdain for this alleged "pinnacle" of motorsport for years now. I find that the cars are tedious to look at it and depressing to listen to. The whole race weekend orchestration in F1 is antiseptic and relentlessly boring. And F1's propensity to go where the money is has destroyed what little integrity was left in the sport. The 2022 F1 schedule is ridiculously long and overblown, with F1 starting to rival NASCAR for schedule stupidity. People inside the sport of F1 are insisting things will be really good by 2024, but who has that kind of time? And I'm not buying this "It won't be long now!" optimism anyway, because left to its own devices F1 will always screw things up, just like they did in the last race of the 2021 season.
As for MotoGP, it remains my favorite form of motorsport. The sheer artistry of the riders and their incredible ability to control those powerful machines remains a sight to behold. I don't miss a race - whether "live" or recorded - and I look forward to the new season with unbridled anticipation.
In closing, I just hope for a safe season for all forms of racing. It remains the most dangerous of pursuits, whether you're competing at the top rung of the sport or at your local bull ring. And thank you ahead of time to all of the volunteers and racing organizers - and especially the corner workers - because without their collective efforts there would be no racing to enjoy.