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CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP: Robert Wickens Q&A

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Canadian star on return to DXDT Racing Corvette in home race
DXDT Racing driver and Canadian ace Robert Wickens met with members of the media via Zoom on Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This will be Wickens’ second start in the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R this year after a transporter fire forced the team to miss the Laguna Seca round. Wickens raced last year at CTMP for the first time in a Corvette and was the GTD pole-winner earlier this year at Long Beach.
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RThe team rebounded at Watkins Glen after the unfortunate incident heading to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. As we head to CTMP and a home race for you, how are you feeling about things?“We’re feeling good. It’s been a lot of work from the team to get ready. They ran the six-hour at The Glen with a new car, a different transporter, different pit equipment and everything else that goes into making this circus work. For me, having not driven since Long Beach, I’m itching to get back at it for my home race. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is always a special one, and especially when the title sponsor is Chevrolet and we’re driving a Corvette, it’s extra special. I think this track was my youth and my childhood. I grew up on the kart track, would ride my bike over to watch the American Le Mans Series and watch Ron Fellows and the yellow Corvette do its thing over the years. So I think hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans and finally give DXDT their first (IMSA) podium, which is well deserved especially after all the setbacks that we’ve had.” Can last year’s race with the Corvette at CTMP help with setup for this year?“Last year was DXDT’s first year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. So at all these tracks – although we have engineering support from GM and Pratt Miller – we were learning everything new for ourselves. You always want to learn yourself instead of learning from others. So already I feel like this year, the team’s been much stronger every race we’ve come back to. And I think Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is going to be no different. For me as a driver, I was learning each track with my Bosch electronic braking system in the Corvette. And so now with a year of experience at all these tracks, my first practice feels like a continuation from how I finished the race the year before, instead of kind of learning everything all through the first two practice sessions. So I’m looking forward to it. I think definitely we have more momentum now than we did last year. And like you said, it was our best finish of the year finishing fourth, but we were in podium contention the entire time. So the goal is to try and finally get that first podium for the team.”
Back in May, there was a lot of uncertainty with the situation related to having everything ready for this race. Can you tell me about your process in this?“I think the uncertainty when we spoke in May was, frankly, if we had enough time to do it all. We were all confident that DXDT could prepare another Corvette Z06 GT3.R and have it on track for Watkins Glen. But from my perspective, we also lost my entire braking system. All of my hand controls that were in the car were unusable. All the spares that were on the truck were also now deemed unusable. We weren’t sure at the time how much stuff would get manufactured. And obviously for the sake of reliability, that was always the most important thing given that it is a braking system, after all. So Bosch, Pratt Miller, DXDT Racing and Corvette Racing… everyone working together to manufacture all the bits and all the spares that we need to race at a high level. It wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination but we were able to get everything into the car and installed for a shakedown last week. So yeah, we’re ready to go.”
How anxious was this process for you? I know you mentioned to me that you had to do like a new seat fit and all these other different things.“I feel like the driver probably has it the easiest. It’s down to the mechanics, engineers and the team managers dealing with insurances… we’re still learning about things that were compromised in the fire. I had to overnight a new HANS device and new shoes because we didn’t realize it but my shoes had some fire damage. And it’s just little stuff like that kind of keeps popping up. From the driver’s side, yeah I lost all my driver equipment. The car is a much bigger thing, much more important thing. We can all buy generic suits and blank helmets and still drive the race cars. There was definitely a lot of communication between Laguna Seca and now, but we’re everyone’s just excited to kind of get back at it.” The magnitude of that and the emotions having all those pieces come back together for your home race?“Honestly, it’s gratitude. There was a brief period of time where I wondered if one, that was the end of my season. Then second, were we going to make it for my next race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Until we knew for sure, I had made plans to try to do my fan experience again, like I did last year, and have a kind of viewing area. But we decided to postpone that for a year because once we kind of got the green light for everything, it was kind of too late to plan it all properly. I think everyone has worked so hard to get to where we are now and I think the work doesn’t stop. We want to win in this series. We want to prove that we’re strong enough to fight for podiums and wins every weekend. So that’s going to be the goal here, and it’s going to be even sweeter if it happens.”
CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP: Robert Wickens Q&ACanadian star on return to DXDT Racing Corvette in home race
DXDT Racing driver and Canadian ace Robert Wickens met with members of the media via Zoom on Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This will be Wickens’ second start in the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R this year after a transporter fire forced the team to miss the Laguna Seca round. Wickens raced last year at CTMP for the first time in a Corvette and was the GTD pole-winner earlier this year at Long Beach.
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RThe team rebounded at Watkins Glen after the unfortunate incident heading to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. As we head to CTMP and a home race for you, how are you feeling about things?“We’re feeling good. It’s been a lot of work from the team to get ready. They ran the six-hour at The Glen with a new car, a different transporter, different pit equipment and everything else that goes into making this circus work. For me, having not driven since Long Beach, I’m itching to get back at it for my home race. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is always a special one, and especially when the title sponsor is Chevrolet and we’re driving a Corvette, it’s extra special. I think this track was my youth and my childhood. I grew up on the kart track, would ride my bike over to watch the American Le Mans Series and watch Ron Fellows and the yellow Corvette do its thing over the years. So I think hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans and finally give DXDT their first (IMSA) podium, which is well deserved especially after all the setbacks that we’ve had.” Can last year’s race with the Corvette at CTMP help with setup for this year?“Last year was DXDT’s first year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. So at all these tracks – although we have engineering support from GM and Pratt Miller – we were learning everything new for ourselves. You always want to learn yourself instead of learning from others. So already I feel like this year, the team’s been much stronger every race we’ve come back to. And I think Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is going to be no different. For me as a driver, I was learning each track with my Bosch electronic braking system in the Corvette. And so now with a year of experience at all these tracks, my first practice feels like a continuation from how I finished the race the year before, instead of kind of learning everything all through the first two practice sessions. So I’m looking forward to it. I think definitely we have more momentum now than we did last year. And like you said, it was our best finish of the year finishing fourth, but we were in podium contention the entire time. So the goal is to try and finally get that first podium for the team.”
Back in May, there was a lot of uncertainty with the situation related to having everything ready for this race. Can you tell me about your process in this?“I think the uncertainty when we spoke in May was, frankly, if we had enough time to do it all. We were all confident that DXDT could prepare another Corvette Z06 GT3.R and have it on track for Watkins Glen. But from my perspective, we also lost my entire braking system. All of my hand controls that were in the car were unusable. All the spares that were on the truck were also now deemed unusable. We weren’t sure at the time how much stuff would get manufactured. And obviously for the sake of reliability, that was always the most important thing given that it is a braking system, after all. So Bosch, Pratt Miller, DXDT Racing and Corvette Racing… everyone working together to manufacture all the bits and all the spares that we need to race at a high level. It wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination but we were able to get everything into the car and installed for a shakedown last week. So yeah, we’re ready to go.”
How anxious was this process for you? I know you mentioned to me that you had to do like a new seat fit and all these other different things.“I feel like the driver probably has it the easiest. It’s down to the mechanics, engineers and the team managers dealing with insurances… we’re still learning about things that were compromised in the fire. I had to overnight a new HANS device and new shoes because we didn’t realize it but my shoes had some fire damage. And it’s just little stuff like that kind of keeps popping up. From the driver’s side, yeah I lost all my driver equipment. The car is a much bigger thing, much more important thing. We can all buy generic suits and blank helmets and still drive the race cars. There was definitely a lot of communication between Laguna Seca and now, but we’re everyone’s just excited to kind of get back at it.” The magnitude of that and the emotions having all those pieces come back together for your home race?“Honestly, it’s gratitude. There was a brief period of time where I wondered if one, that was the end of my season. Then second, were we going to make it for my next race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Until we knew for sure, I had made plans to try to do my fan experience again, like I did last year, and have a kind of viewing area. But we decided to postpone that for a year because once we kind of got the green light for everything, it was kind of too late to plan it all properly. I think everyone has worked so hard to get to where we are now and I think the work doesn’t stop. We want to win in this series. We want to prove that we’re strong enough to fight for podiums and wins every weekend. So that’s going to be the goal here, and it’s going to be even sweeter if it happens.”
The track is a thrill to drive and the fans love it. They are camped on every hillside. But are there areas where you think safety could be improved at this track?“With the evolution of safety, you know, I think you can never sit still. And I think the track has done a phenomenal job with that. You know, obviously motorsport is dangerous; Tom (Dillman, LMP2 driver) showed us that last year. What they’ve done with the runoffs in Turn One and Turn Two and Turn Eight has really helped not only from a driver willing to push the limits, but also I think the team side and just creating more paved runoff for us. It has been a benefit. Extending barriers here and there and moving walls around, it’s no easy task. The track is the track and you can only deal with the real estate you have. With the forest kind of all around, at the end of the day you still want it to be Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I think us drivers love it because of its raw form in terms of what it is. And I think that’s just the beauty of the track.” Can you talk a bit about how DXDT works within the Chevy environment, especially given that there are more customer teams this year in GTD?“I think from a DXDT standpoint, we actually repurposed the chassis that they were using in SRO in previous years. So putting it into the IMSA homologation with torque sensors and scrutineering boxes, etc., that kind of goes along with that. I’m not going to pretend to know what every little detail of that is but from the adaptation standpoint, from quality checking components and everything, Pratt Miller plays a big part with their customers on race weekends. There’s a data share across Pratt Miller and their customers, which is super beneficial for us drivers, for sure. The pro drivers are there for a reason. You want to learn from them as much as possible every step of the way. And we have that ability within the Corvette family. It’s been really a very supported program from Corvette Racing. And I think there’s no surprise that they’re gaining customers year on year because I think the support they give is pretty phenomenal.” Can you speak to just what this race means to the Canadian fans. We know Canadians have a really big motorsports passion and culture. But just what does this race weekend mean for the Canadian fan base?“I think every driver loves a home race. My career went to Europe at a young age, and I spent the better part of 12 years without having a home race. There was always a team home race, maybe, and you kind of treated that like your own home race. But to truly be with your people, with your fans, with your loved ones, friends and families that come out and camp… the motorsport community is small, but it’s very loyal and quite strong. I love being at the track and seeing former competitors that I grew up karting with, their parents, and everyone just loves motorsports so much. There is always that level of nostalgia, right? As I said before, I was that kid that in between practice sessions on the kart track, I’d be riding my bike over to the big track and then trying to sneak into the paddock and trying to get drivers’ autographs and doing all that stuff. So when I see little kids doing the same thing, it’s just cool. I love to see it. I think the Canadian fans are very passionate. You kind of see it at every Canadian venue whether it’s IMSA, IndyCar or Formula One. Maybe motorsports isn’t our top sport, but the people that love it are very passionate about it.”

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