DTM's Wickens takes turn in Hinchcliffe ride swap

Wednesday, 01 March 2017


By Marshall Pruett and Robin Miller / Image by IMS Photo


Wednesday was Robert Wickens' day to swap rides with James Hinchcliffe, kicking off a friendly vehicle exchange that saw the Canadian Mercedes-Benz DTM racer get taste of an IndyCar at Sebring. The 27-year-old, who demonstrated talent in the Champ Car Atlantic series and on Europe's open-wheel ladder, ran a lap of 52.41 in the No. 5 Honda, besting visiting sports car ace Pipo Derani (52.69s) and Auto GP champ Luis Michael Dorrbecker (53.64s).
"Such a cool experience getting to try out @hinchtown's @spmindycar here in Sebring," Wickens said on social media.
By comparison, of the 16 Verizon IndyCar Series regulars on track, Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi led the pack with a 51.64-second lap, followed by teammates Marco Andretti (51.72), Ryan Hunter-Reay (51.79) and Takuma Sato (52.16).

robertwickens Verified Sebring International Raceway




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Such a cool experience getting to try out @hinchtown 's @spmindycar here in Sebring. I'm jumping back in for a couple more laps this afternoon. #indycar #DTM


"James and I have been friends for years and this ride swap is something we've wanted to do for a long time," Wickens, who is coming off a career-best fourth-place finish in the DTM championship, said last week. "We've seen some other drivers do it in the past - Formula 1 and NASCAR and all that - and we thought it would be a cool opportunity to do with DTM and IndyCar. It wasn't easy planning it and making everything work ... Everything aligned and here we are."
Hinchcliffe, 30, will take his turn in Wickens' HWA-run Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM car at the Vallelunga circuit in Italy after IndyCar's season opener in St. Petersburg is completed on March 12.

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.@Hinchtown giving some last minute advice to @robertwickens before his first laps in an #INDYCAR.

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