Canadians Wickens-Wilkins win IMSA race at Watkins Glen
The Canadian pair of Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins won the TCR class in the fifth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday in their Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N.
This was Wickens’s first victory since he began racing fulltime again this season – the first triumph since he suffered major spinal cord injuries in a 2018 crash in the IndyCar Series. The win was the sixth of Wilkins’ IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge career. The best finish for the drivers together before was third at Daytona International Speedway in the January season opener.
Wickens, a paraplegic who uses a specially constructed steering wheel to steer as well as control the brakes and throttle, drove the #33 Hyundai for the first half of the two-hour race – moving from his third-place qualifying effort into the class lead for the final 10 laps of his stint. Wilkins took the driver’s seat for the final hour and quickly made his way forward from the pit stop – ultimately holding off a hard-charging Tim Lewis in the #5 KMW Motorsports Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce by a mere 0.374 seconds. Bryan Herta Autosport drivers A.J. Muss and Ryan Norman finished third in the #2 Elantra.
The reception for Wickens and Wilkins should be just as amazing next week, when the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge heads to their home soil for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park two-hour race, the series’ first visit to the track in Bowmanville, Ontario, since 2019.
The series points leaders Michael Lewis had finished the race in sixth position, but they were dropped to 16thby a penalty for a drive-time infringement, which promoted the pair of Tim Lewis and Roy Block on top of the standings, 30 points clear of Lewis-Hagler.
Watkins Glen – Race
1. R. Wickens/M. Wilkins (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 52 laps
2. T. Lewis/R. Block (KMW Motorsports, Alfa Romeo Giuliettta Veloce), 0.374
3. AJ. Muss/R. Norman (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 4.962
Championship points
1. R. Block/T. Lewis 1400 pts; 2. M. Lewis/T. Hagler 1370; 3. P. Chase/H. Gottsacker, 1300
Picture: IMSA/LAT Images
