Robert Wickens has received what he needed to participate in Saturday's American Red Cross Grand Prix, the first of six virtual events in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge – a simulator with hand controls.
According to a story posted Friday on RACER.com, Cary and Todd Bettenhausen, the twin sons of longtime Indy car racer Gary Bettenhausen, have helped Wickens get the necessary equipment he's been lacking. Todd designs simulator hardware for SimXperience while Cary operates Indy Simulation at PitFit, an Indianapolis training facility used by Wickens and many other NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers.
"I got a call a couple days ago from Robert, and he said he'd be interested in driving our simulator," Cary told RACER.com. "So, I got my brother on the line, and we've been thrashing to get things ready and received a lot of help to make this thing happen."
The Bettenhausens converted the iRacing rig from foot to hand controls. Former driver Max Papis provided a steering wheel from his business, and Steve Fusek, who is Takuma Sato's agent and proprietor of Indy's only downtown hardware store, loaned the motor to power the steering wheel.
"It's cool how everyone is chipping in to help but it's not surprising because Robby is such a great guy and this is going to be fun for him," Todd told RACER.com. "I don't think he has as much experience on a simulator as some of the guys, but the race is going to be a fixed setup for everyone, so it will be more like an IROC race where all the cars have similar performance potential."
The virtual racing event of approximately 90 minutes begins this weekend with Saturday's first event at 4 p.m. ET. The event will be streamed through INDYCAR.com for fans to enjoy. The event also will be available on INDYCAR's YouTube and Facebook as well as iRacing's Twitch.
The entry list of 26 drivers includes NTT INDYCAR SERIES champions Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais, Tony Kanaan along with four Indianapolis 500 winners. Collectively, the field has registered 140 series victories.
If that wasn't enough talent, a driver with a record-tying seven NASCAR Cup Series crowns – Jimmie Johnson – will join the virtual race as a "special guest" entrant.
The American Red Cross Grand Prix is the first of six events to be held weekly each Saturday through May 2. The opening event will be followed by others at Barber Motorsports Park (April 4), a "Driver's Choice" track (April 11), a "Random Draw" track (April 18), Circuit of The Americas (April 25) and a non-INDYCAR "Dream" track (May 2).
Fans of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES also will be able to participate in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge through the INDYCAR Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone game, which is accessible within the NTT INDYCAR Mobile App powered by NTT DATA.
The game established for the actual season has a re-imagined interface for 2020. Players select four-driver teams within a $100 weekly salary. Click the link for more information: Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone
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