Latest news with #WeatherTechSportsCarChampionship
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Highlights: IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP
Relive all of the action from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Wickens to drive feature race at home 7 years after crash left him paralyzed
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (AP) — Robert Wickens' promising racing career seemed as if it was cut tragically short after a 2018 crash left him paralyzed from the chest down. But almost seven years later, Wickens is racing in the headline event of the Chevrolet Grand Prix, competing at the highest levels of his sport in Canada for the first time since that accident. The event is at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, a course Wickens grew up around and where his dream of becoming a professional race car driver first began to take shape. 'It's been a long time since I've raced a home race as the headline class,' Wickens said Thursday. 'The Toronto Indy in 2018 would have been the last time, and thankfully, we finished on the podium there.' Racing IMSA GTD, the highest class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, on a track where he used to watch his heroes compete as a boy, is a full-circle moment for Wickens. 'I raced a lot of the cart track just next door, and when I wasn't on track, I'd ride my bike over to the car track and watch whatever car was driving around,' Wickens said. 'Whether it was a IMSA race weekend or a regional kind of Formula Ford race, or a Canadian NASCAR race, anything in between. 'I feel like I knew every inch of this track, even though I didn't drive it much.' Wickens' professional career officially began in 2005 when, at 16, he started racing in Formula BMW USA with Team Apex Racing USA. As a result, he didn't spend much time at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park like many Canadians in motorsport do, instead cutting his teeth in the United States and Europe before graduating to IndyCar in 2017. After getting a full ride with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at the start of the 2018 season, Wickens was named the Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year that May after leading two laps and finishing ninth in the race. Wickens continued to thrive that summer, finishing third at the Honda Indy Toronto on July 15, 2018 and climbing to sixth in the IndyCar rankings. Disaster struck just over a month later, on Aug. 19, when he sustained a serious spinal cord injury in a catastrophic crash during the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway that left him partially paralyzed. Using hand controls, Wickens resumed driving after his injury and, this year, began racing a Corvette for DXDT Racing in the Sprint Cup of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Back competing at the highest levels of North American motorsport, Wickens said 'it's amazing' to be part of the Chevrolet Grand Prix. 'I love the added attention of a hometown race,' he said. 'I think any racing driver wants that spotlight moment. You want to be the quarterback in the fourth quarter at the two-minute warning with the game on the line and the ball in your hands.' Wickens' goal for the Chevrolet Grand Prix is straightforward: run a mistake-free event. 'I think in the IMSA WeatherTech, SportsCar Championship, you can't expect success, you have to work for it,' said Wickens, noting that Corvette has won 13 races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park since 2001. 'You have to be perfect. 'So far, in my few races that I've done in the Corvette, we've shown a lot of potential, but we haven't been perfect, and because of that, we haven't gotten the end result.' Because Wickens is racing on home soil for the first time since his accident, he's offering all kinds of unique fan experiences through his website. That includes a tour of DXDT Racing, a personal tour of his Corvette Z06 GT3.R with his custom-made Bosch electronic hand control system, and a photo op on the track. Wickens has also organized a viewing section for anyone who wants to join outside of Turn 2, his favorite place to watch races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park when he was growing up. 'It's such a family sport. It's a lot of parents that love the sport, it's generational fandom,' Wickens said. 'I think it's so important when you see kids around that they just have a great experience because that was me growing up, right? 'I remember my first Toronto Indy, or my first time at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and meeting drivers and getting autographs and seeing the car firsthand and just how welcoming it's always been. Now I feel like it's my turn with the baton to run that back.' ___ AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wickens to drive feature race at home seven years after crash left him paralyzed
Robert Wickens's promising racing career seemed like it was cut tragically short after a 2018 crash left him paralyzed from the chest down. But almost seven years later, Wickens is racing in the headline event of the Chevrolet Grand Prix, competing at the highest levels of his sport in Canada for the first time since that accident. The event is at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont., a course Wickens grew up around and where his dream of becoming a professional race car driver first began to take shape. 'It's been a long time since I've raced a home race as the headline class,' Wickens said in a video call Thursday. 'The Toronto Indy in 2018 would have been the last time, and thankfully, we finished on the podium there.' Racing IMSA GTD, the highest class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, on a track where he used to watch his heroes compete as a boy, is a full-circle moment for Wickens. 'I raced a lot of the cart track just next door, and when I wasn't on track, I'd ride my bike over to the car track and watch whatever car was driving around,' Wickens said. 'Whether it was a IMSA race weekend or a regional kind of Formula Ford race, or a Canadian NASCAR race, anything in between. 'I feel like I knew every inch of this track, even though I didn't drive it much.' Wickens's professional career officially began in 2005 when, at 16, he started racing in Formula BMW USA with Team Apex Racing USA. As a result, he didn't spend much time at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park like many Canadians in motorsport do, instead cutting his teeth in the United States and Europe before graduating to IndyCar in 2017. After getting a full ride with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at the start of the 2018 season, Wickens was named the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year that May after leading two laps and finishing ninth during the race. Wickens continued to thrive that summer, including a third-place finish at the Honda Indy Toronto on July 15, 2018, climbing to sixth in the IndyCar rankings. Disaster struck just over a month later, on Aug. 19, when he sustained a serious spinal cord injury in a catastrophic crash during the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway that left him partially paralyzed. Using hand controls, Wickens resumed driving after his injury and, this year, began racing a Corvette for DXDT Racing in the Sprint Cup of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Back competing at the highest levels of North American motorsport, Wickens said 'it's amazing' to be part of the Chevrolet Grand Prix. 'I love the added attention of a hometown race,' he said. 'I think any racing driver wants that spotlight moment. You want to be the quarterback in the fourth quarter at the two-minute warning with the game on the line and the ball in your hands.' Wickens's goal for the Chevrolet Grand Prix is straightforward: just run a mistake-free event. 'I think in the IMSA WeatherTech, SportsCar Championship, you can't expect success, you have to work for it,' said Wickens, noting that Corvette has won 13 races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park since 2001. 'You have to be perfect. 'So far, in my few races that I've done in the Corvette, we've shown a lot of potential, but we haven't been perfect, and because of that, we haven't gotten the end result.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Because Wickens is racing back on home soil for the first time since his accident, he's offering all kinds of unique fan experiences through his website. That includes a tour of DXDT Racing, a personal tour of his Corvette Z06 GT3.R with his custom-made Bosch electronic hand control system, and a photo op on the track. Wickens has also organized a viewing section for anyone who wants to join outside of Turn 2, his favourite place to watch races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park when he was growing up. 'It's such a family sport. It's a lot of parents that love the sport, it's generational fandom,' said Wickens. 'I think it's so important when you see kids around that they just have a great experience because that was me growing up, right? 'I remember my first Toronto Indy, or my first time at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and meeting drivers and getting autographs and seeing the car firsthand and just how welcoming it's always been. Now I feel like it's my turn with the baton to run that back.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
NBC Sports
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
IMSA'S SIX HOURS OF THE GLEN PRESENTED LIVE THIS WEEKEND ACROSS NBC AND PEACOCK
Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen from Watkins Glen International in N.Y. Begins this Sunday, June 22, at 12 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock All Four Classes of 56 Cars Marks Third Consecutive Year with Full Capacity Grid NBC Sports' Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish, and Brian Till to Call Race STAMFORD, Conn. – June 18, 2025 – NBC Sports continues its coverage of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with comprehensive live coverage of Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen from Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y., beginning this Sunday, June 22, on NBC and Peacock at Noon ET before transitioning to exclusively on Peacock at 3 p.m. ET. In addition to live coverage of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, throughout the weekend Peacock will exclusively present live coverage of the Porsche Carrera Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, and Michelin Pilot Challenge races, in addition to WeatherTech qualifying. For more information, see the chart below. The 11-turn, 3.45-mile track in Upstate New York will feature all four classes racing at the same time in this endurance competition that marks the halfway point of the 2025 season. In what has been a fairly close points battle thus far, only two points separate the LMP2 leaders, 11 in GTD PRO, 70 in GTP and 124 in GTD heading into this weekend's race. In the GTP class, the No. 6 Porsche team of Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell are the only GTP entry to make the podium in all five races to start the season. NBC Sports' Leigh Diffey will call the action alongside former drivers Calvin Fish and Brian Till. Dave Burns, Matt Yocum, and Chris Wilner will serve as pit reporters. Peacock serves as the streaming home of the WeatherTech Championship with flag-to-flag live coverage of all races as well as exclusive coverage for portions of select endurance races. Click here for complete details on the 2025 IMSA coverage schedule. BROADCAST TEAM Play-by-Play: Leigh Diffey Analyst: Calvin Fish, Brian Till Reporters: Dave Burns, Matt Yocum, Chris Wilner --NBC SPORTS--
NBC Sports
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
How to watch 2025 IMSA Watkins Glen on NBC, Peacock: Streaming info, start times and daily schedules
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship reaches the halfway point of the 2025 season with its first endurance race in three months, racing for six hours with all four categories at Watkins Glen International. Porsche Penske Motorsport maintains a firm grip on the top two spots of the Grand Touring Prototype championship standings, but Acura won May 31 in Detroit to snap Porsche's four-race winning streak to start the season. The premier prototype class has featured parity on the 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course in Watkins Glen, New York, where five manufacturers have won in the past four years: Porsche (2024), BMW ('23), Acura ('22), Cadillac ('21) and Mazda ('21). Watkins Glen will mark the return of the LMP2 division, which last raced March 15 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring (the most recent endurance event on the IMSA schedule). Here are the start times, daily schedules and streaming info for the 2025 IMSA Six Hours of The Glen: 2025 IMSA Watkins Glen WHEN: Sunday, June 22 at 12:10 p.m. ET DISTANCE: A six-hour race on the 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course in Watkins Glen, New York. ENTRY LIST: Click here to see the 56-car field in the GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD categories for the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen. FORECAST: According to Weather Underground, it's expected to be 83 degrees with an 18% chance of rain at the green flag. QUALIFYING: Saturday, June 21 at 2:15 p.m. ET (streamed on Peacock) How to Watch IMSA at Watkins Glen TV/STREAMING: The Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen Detroit will be streamed on Peacock from flag to flag beginning at noon ET on Sunday, June, 22. NBC also will have coverage of the race from noon to 3 p.m. ET The NBC Sports broadcast will feature announcers Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish and Brian Till. Dave Burns, Matt Yocum and Chris Wilner are the pit reporters. RADIO: All sessions live on SiriusXM live race coverage begins June 22 at noon (SiriusXM channel 206, Web/App 996) IMSA Watkins Glen schedule, start times Here's a rundown of the IMSA schedule this week at the 3.4-mile road course in Watkins Glen, New York (all times are ET): 10-10:30 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup practice 10:45-11:30 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo practice 1-1:40 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup practice 1:55-2:40 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo practice 2:55-3:55 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice Friday, June 20 8:30-9 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying 9:15-9:50 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo qualifying 10:05-11:05 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice 11:25 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice 2-2:40 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 3-3:50 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 1 4:10-4:45 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying Saturday, June 21 8-8:40 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 9-10:30 a.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice 11:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge LP Building Solutions 120 2:20-3:50 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying (Peacock) 4:10-5 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 2 Sunday, June 22 12:10-6:10 p.m.: Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen (NBC 12-3 p.m., Peacock) 2025 SEASON RECAPS ROUND 1: Porsche Penske's Felipe Nasr closes Rolex 24 at Daytona win for second conseuctive year ROUND 2: Porsche Penske Motorsport sweeps top two spots at Twelve Hours of Sebring ROUND 3: Nasr, Tandy stay perfect with Porsche in victory at Long Beach ROUND 4: The other Porsche Penske 963 wins at Laguna Seca ROUND 5: Acura outduels Cadillac for first victory of season
