If a trackside observer told you a guy was dropping back into a kart for the first time since 2005 and had eyes on the Florida Winter Tour rotax senior podium, you’d probably chuckle. If that same observer told you it was Robert Wickens, you’d surely stop. Such was the case recently as after attending with plans to be a driver coach for Prime Kartsport, the F2 Championship runner-up was encouraged back behind the wheel at the opening round in Orlando.
“I just love to race regardless of what it is,” Wickens said in recalling the decision to jump back behind the wheel of a kart. “And obviously I have to thank Prime Kartsport and others for creating the opportunity for me to race in Orlando, and for giving me equipment that was good enough to win. I’d only ever done a FWT race in Jacksonville back in 2003! So it was great to drive in it again.”
While karters and his fans around the world may be unaware, those around Ontario, Canada, certainly recall the last time Wickens was in the seat - an epic championship final showdown with Daniel Morad, another Canadian karting legend that was active at the opening round of the Florida Winter Tour.
“The race was a crazy one,” Wickens recalled. “Half wet, half dry conditions at the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship finale at Innisfil. Daniel and I were virtually tied for the ICC Championship going into the race, so I needed to win the race to win the championship. I ended up winning with a late race pass and came home with the championship, then headed off to cars the next season.”
He’s been there ever since, and created a name for himself around the world by racing and winning in Formula 2, Formula 3 Euro Series, A1GP, the World Series by Renault and more. The five-year time gap between kart races also created a unique situation for Wickens to comment on Rotax Max.
“I think Rotax was great when I was in karting, and its development has been impressive. The first time I drove one was in 2003, one week before the Canadian National Championships. Now in 2010, it is great to see that the format has not really changed at all. The program is consistent around the world, and when you look at the bang for your buck in racing, you probably can’t beat it!”
In his return to the sport, Wickens confronted a field near fifty strong in Florida and appeared right at home from the earliest timed sessions of the weekend. He qualified P13 on Saturday, but after being collected in turn one of the prefinal the digits reversed for P31 after the opening lap. A mesmerizing drive followed, taking the Canadian back to P16 by the checker.
“To be honest I was expecting chaos in turn one starting 13th,” he recalled of the first race day. “It’s a position where if you go really aggressive into the first corner and get away with it, you can still have a good result in the final. All I remember from the first corner was that as I was trying to avoid everything, a kart went over the top of me already going backwards! It was pretty wild! After that... it’s always fun passing people!”
Then the situation repeated itself in the final, and best laid plans went out the window in turn one again before a retirement on lap five. Sunday was a new day, and this time it began from P8 after the morning qualifying session. The prefinal dropped his Prime Kartsport / CRG back to P12, and after an inspection between races Wickens found out why.
“It turned out the power valve stud was put in incorrectly, so I effectively had a junior engine all of Saturday and up to the final on Sunday,” Wickens said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t find any problems on Saturday night. I was surprised to learn how much time it was costing after it was corrected.” The benefit of the fix was definitely apparent on the time sheet, as on just lap three of the final, Wickens turned his best lap of the day, better than that which he turned in qualifying or the prefinal. Unfortunately, it was also his last lap of the race.
“A shame,” he said. “In the final I was feeling really good. I made a small mistake exiting the last corner, and a kart got inside of me going into the first corner. I guess they thought I wasn’t alongside on the exit, because I was squeezed into the barriers on the straight before entering turn two. It was a very soft hit, and I was actually hitting the barriers harder on my own in qualifying, but the rim just exploded and that was the end of my race.”
Wickens now returns to motor racing limbo, awaiting concrete plans for the upcoming season. He’ll be at Palm Beach International Raceway in February for the second round of the Florida Winter Tour, though as Prime Kartsport driver coach or Prime Kartsport driver, remains to be seen.
Photo Credits: www.otp.ca // Photo Cutline: Wickens got back to his karting roots in Orlando.
From Jason Holland
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