By: Chris Perkins, Senior Writer and Editor, GM News
By: Chris Perkins, Senior Writer and Editor, GM News
This weekend on the streets of Long Beach, California, professional race car driver Robert Wickens will embark on his second season racing a Corvette. Alongside driver Mason Fillipi, Wickens will pilot the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship’s five sprint races of the season in the GTD class for DXDT Racing. The No. 36 is unique in its class for one key reason: it’s the only car on the grid equipped with hand controls for accelerator and brake.
Wickens sustained a spinal-cord injury in a 2018 INDYCAR crash that left him with paraplegia. After years of determined work in rehab, he got back into a race car modified with hand controls operating the accelerator and brake in 2021, and resumed his professional racing career in 2022. Last year was his first in the DXDT Racing Corvette, which is specially equipped with an electronic braking and hand-control system developed by Bosch in collaboration with Chevrolet and Pratt Miller Motorsports.
Caption: Wickens (L) with Corvette Racing driver Tommy Milner (center).
Throughout 2025, Wickens and DXDT Racing showed promise but did not earn any wins or podium finishes. That makes the aim for this year obvious.
“We had a highlight of a fourth-place finish last year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so the goal is to beat that,” Wickens tells GM News. “If we beat that, it means we’re getting on the podium, which will be the team’s first in the series. I would love nothing more than if next time we talk, we have top-five finishes in all five races.”
In racing, consistency is key. “I'm a big believer that if you constantly put yourself in a position for success, you create your own luck,” Wickens says. “You’ve got to be ready when opportunities present themselves.”
DXDT Racing has been working hard for its breakthrough victory. Wickens sees his job not just as driving the car, but helping motivate the team as it pursues success. “This year, I don’t have the learning excuse I did last year, so I’m taking on more of a leadership role.”
Wickens isn’t the type to make excuses, though he’d be justified in making a few. In the off-season, he and his wife welcomed twins into their family, an experience he says “rocks your world in the best way possible.”
On breaks from parenting duties, he and teammate Fillipi have spent time watching videos and studying data from last year’s Long Beach race, and running practice laps in their at-home racing simulators. Still, when he rolls out of the pits for Friday practice, it’ll be the first time Wickens has driven the car in months.
“In a way, I felt more prepared for Long Beach last year than I do this year, even though I’ve already experienced it,” he says. “It’s a weird situation I’m in now, but the beauty of DXDT Racing is that even though I haven’t driven the car, I still feel integrated into the team.”
There’s a lot of pressure to perform at Long Beach and beyond. This season, Wickens will compete exclusively in the five shorter “sprint” races in the 11-race schedule. Next year, he aims to run the full IMSA WeatherTech season. “I have five shots at this, five shots to make an impact to get a full-season campaign.”
It’s a tough task, but there’s no doubt that Wickens has the right tool for the job with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
“The first test I did in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R with the integration of my hand controls was probably one of the better days of my athletic career,” Wickens says. “I had this vision for so long on what I thought driving with hand controls should feel like. That first lap, I felt more comfortable than I’d felt in a long time.”
Wickens says the complete package works extremely well together, a testament to the underlying strength of both the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and the hand-control system created with help from vehicle constructor Pratt Miller and equipment supplier Bosch.
Wickens views the 2026 season as a massive opportunity.
“I'm very much treating this year as a building year, a continuation of 2025,” he says. “It’s a chance to get more experience, more races under my belt, and prove to people that I can compete at this level.”
This weekend on the streets of Long Beach, California, professional race car driver Robert Wickens will embark on his second season racing a Corvette. Alongside driver Mason Fillipi, Wickens will pilot the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship’s five sprint races of the season in the GTD class for DXDT Racing. The No. 36 is unique in its class for one key reason: it’s the only car on the grid equipped with hand controls for accelerator and brake.
Wickens sustained a spinal-cord injury in a 2018 INDYCAR crash that left him with paraplegia. After years of determined work in rehab, he got back into a race car modified with hand controls operating the accelerator and brake in 2021, and resumed his professional racing career in 2022. Last year was his first in the DXDT Racing Corvette, which is specially equipped with an electronic braking and hand-control system developed by Bosch in collaboration with Chevrolet and Pratt Miller Motorsports.
Throughout 2025, Wickens and DXDT Racing showed promise but did not earn any wins or podium finishes. That makes the aim for this year obvious.
“We had a highlight of a fourth-place finish last year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so the goal is to beat that,” Wickens tells GM News. “If we beat that, it means we’re getting on the podium, which will be the team’s first in the series. I would love nothing more than if next time we talk, we have top-five finishes in all five races.”
In racing, consistency is key. “I'm a big believer that if you constantly put yourself in a position for success, you create your own luck,” Wickens says. “You’ve got to be ready when opportunities present themselves.”
DXDT Racing has been working hard for its breakthrough victory. Wickens sees his job not just as driving the car, but helping motivate the team as it pursues success. “This year, I don’t have the learning excuse I did last year, so I’m taking on more of a leadership role.”
Wickens isn’t the type to make excuses, though he’d be justified in making a few. In the off-season, he and his wife welcomed twins into their family, an experience he says “rocks your world in the best way possible.”
On breaks from parenting duties, he and teammate Fillipi have spent time watching videos and studying data from last year’s Long Beach race, and running practice laps in their at-home racing simulators. Still, when he rolls out of the pits for Friday practice, it’ll be the first time Wickens has driven the car in months.
“In a way, I felt more prepared for Long Beach last year than I do this year, even though I’ve already experienced it,” he says. “It’s a weird situation I’m in now, but the beauty of DXDT Racing is that even though I haven’t driven the car, I still feel integrated into the team.”
There’s a lot of pressure to perform at Long Beach and beyond. This season, Wickens will compete exclusively in the five shorter “sprint” races in the 11-race schedule. Next year, he aims to run the full IMSA WeatherTech season. “I have five shots at this, five shots to make an impact to get a full-season campaign.”
It’s a tough task, but there’s no doubt that Wickens has the right tool for the job with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
“The first test I did in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R with the integration of my hand controls was probably one of the better days of my athletic career,” Wickens says. “I had this vision for so long on what I thought driving with hand controls should feel like. That first lap, I felt more comfortable than I’d felt in a long time.”
Wickens says the complete package works extremely well together, a testament to the underlying strength of both the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and the hand-control system created with help from vehicle constructor Pratt Miller and equipment supplier Bosch.
Wickens views the 2026 season as a massive opportunity.
“I'm very much treating this year as a building year, a continuation of 2025,” he says. “It’s a chance to get more experience, more races under my belt, and prove to people that I can compete at this level.”