In 2018, Robert Wickens confronted one of many few worst-case situations in racing. Whereas competing at Pocono, his No. 6 Lucas Oil Arrow IndyCar hit one other automotive (Ryan Hunter-Reay), leading to a brutal crash that red-flagged the race. Wickens surprisingly survived the incident, however his accidents would depart him paralyzed. Possibilities had been possible that he wouldn’t have the ability to stroll, or race once more.
Know-how has made appreciable strides over time for disabled racers. Sufficient to the place paraplegic drivers have been utilizing experimental hand-controlled programs, sometimes constructed specifically for that particular racing automobile, that allowed them to return to the very factor they liked doing: racing. Michael Johnson was a kind of drivers, and in 2021, after Wickens’ lengthy highway of restoration and rehabilitation, he supplied the previous driver an opportunity to return to the monitor, utilizing his specifically modified Hyundai Veloster TCR outfitted with a hand-controlled system. The supply led to Wickens signing on for a full season trip with Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA), nabbing a championship win in 2023, and offered a strategy to additional the event of the hand controls to make them extra life like and accessible for different paraplegic drivers who additionally need an opportunity at a championship — or simply have the ability to artfully hoon a automotive round a monitor once more.
The way it began
The sooner hand management system Wickens utilized (demonstrated within the video under) in his first seasons with BHA functioned by way of a brake ring that’s mounted behind the steering wheel. When Wickens pulled on this brake ring, a collection of linkages utilized stress to the first brake grasp cylinder which then despatched hydraulic stress to the anti-lock brake controller and finally to the calipers at every nook to allow braking.
Whereas the system did supply some help to making use of brake stress, it was within the type of pressurized air serving to Wickens to maneuver the linkages and was sometimes delayed. There was little or no suggestions as all of those motions had been taking place and loads of mechanical shifting parts which made it arduous to do high quality actions like path braking, which require feeling how the automotive responds as you regularly brake, and is crucial in racing competitively.
All these linkages additionally made it tough for seamless handoffs of the automotive between Wickens and his co-drivers. Within the Michelin Pilot Problem collection, drivers are likely to share automobiles — switching all through the enduro races. Wickens raced with Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker, who would hop into the automotive after Wickens’ stints and flip a change to make use of the usual foot controls. Whereas the transition mechanically was straightforward between each abled and disabled drivers, the early system’s mechanical linkages took up pivotal house throughout the driver cockpit, and required drivers to maneuver their ft to work round issues. It additionally made it tough to get Wickens out and in of the automotive.
That management system can be regularly developed over the following few years with BHA’s engineering workforce, and finally, little or no remained of the unique system sourced by Johnson. However in late 2023, the engineering workforce realized they can apply not too long ago developed LMDh expertise to make the system even higher. They reached out to the gurus at Bosch Motorsport.
Designing a neater way forward for racing for disabled drivers
Senior Motorsport Engineer Jordan Krell and the remainder of the engineering workforce at Bosch Motorsport had been instantly as much as the problem and seemed to the Digital Braking System (EBS) developed for the hybrid LMDh race automobiles as a place to begin. Initially deployed in IMSA to manage the braking capabilities of the brake-by-wire system used within the LMDh prototypes, the EBS makes use of electrical indicators to mix friction brakes and regenerative braking offered by the hybrid parts put in within the automobiles.
Bosch engineers wished to handle the wants of the hand management system and work out a strategy to rid the automotive of all of these cumbersome linkages. They constructed a duplicate of the system that Wickens was utilizing of their lab and started swapping out parts, together with designing a brand new system structure.
Picture by: Bozi Tatarevic
Every adjustment finally left them with a system that linked from the brake ring on the steering wheel to 2 small grasp cylinders below the steering column. These cylinders had been then routed hydraulically to the first grasp cylinder by the brake pedal and from there traces had been linked to the EBS. The circuit was accomplished by connecting the EBS to the ABS unit that may be a commonplace part on the Veloster N TCR.
The following step was tuning the EBS, and as soon as once more, Bosch went to the LMDh platform with a purpose to purchase a pedal really feel simulator. The simulator allowed them to offer correct braking suggestions because the brakes had been utilized. This pedal really feel simulator is an non-obligatory part on LMDh automobiles which might hook up with the hydraulic circuit on the EBS with a purpose to present suggestions when brakes are utilized by it.
Picture by: Bosch Motorsport
Not solely did this new system filter out a bunch of mechanical parts below the steering wheel and across the pedal field, however it additionally seamlessly built-in with the prevailing Bosch parts and allowed for Wickens and his co-drivers to simply swap out and in of the automotive with the flick of a change that adjustments controls from fingers to ft.
One of many largest enhancements with the brand new EBS-based system is the truth that the enhance offered by the column-mounted grasp cylinders is just not solely extra exact but in addition extra highly effective so now Wickens can function the brake ring with one hand whereas fully utilizing the opposite hand for an additional perform like shifting which is able to enable him to take his braking to the following degree.
This new system not solely gives a direct profit for Wickens contained in the cockpit of the Hyundai Veloster N TCR, however opens up alternatives to race in different automobiles for the reason that system makes use of Bosch parts which are suitable with ABS modules present in GT automobiles and prototypes. Wickens might now take the system expertise with him to step as much as the following degree of competitors and get behind the wheel of a GTD or GTP automotive within the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
Wickens was capable of really put the brand new system to the take a look at at IMSA’s run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway only a few weeks in the past, the place he and teammate Harry Gottsacker completed on the rostrum after beginning the Michelin Pilot Problem race from deep within the TCR subject. They enter the upcoming race this weekend at Michelin Raceway at Highway Atlanta second within the championship with the chance to nab a back-to-back championship win. With the developments made in only a few years, and this newest partnership with Bosch, no matter this weekend’s final result could also be, will probably be a win for Wickens, and an extra win for the disabled hoping to get an opportunity to tackle motorsports, once more.
