MP 1690: Robert Wickens on The Weight of Speed Documentary, Start of IMSA Season

Robert Wiccan, so awesome to see you, my friend.

So we're going to Long Beach, and you're going to get to drive racecars.

You are a professional racecar driver, my guy, and insight provider, coach, just all kinds

of great things.

Really cool thing happening at Long Beach, a little bit of a private screening coming,

but the unveiling of a project you've been in the middle of, had your life under a microscope

here for more than a year, the weight of speed, a documentary about your life.

Tell me about this, Mark Wahlberg, this has been a big production going on behind the

scenes, but it's time for that to come to light.

It is, yeah, it's exciting, you know, we're finally in the final stages of post-production,

and yeah, it's kind of out of my hands, and I get to see it like everyone else for the

first time.

It's, my wife and I have seen kind of a rough cut, and they've done such an amazing job.

You know, I was always a little weary more, so nervous of like, what if I don't like

it?

Because it's my life, and obviously I'm protective of my life and my story.

I think I have a pretty unique story, and one that, you know, maybe I'm too close

to it, but I felt like it deserved to be told, and we're, yeah, we're just grateful for the

opportunity to share the journey, because it's been quite the path.

Tell me about the interest coming in, because as you mentioned, it's not as if you've always

been super private, but you have been very mindful of this is your life, whether it's

relationships, now obviously a father, like you're not the guy who's just been come

in doors wide open, all up to you, make whatever you want out of my life.

You've been someone who's wanted to take care about how you present yourself.

What's that process been like, having to allow access, but also having to place trust in a

production company?

I think trust is the big word, you know, I think the director, Michael Johnson, right

from the beginning, we just felt comfortable with him.

And along this journey, you know, we've been with this production company now for

a couple of years, but prior to that, we were with some other great production

companies.

And yeah, so it's not like this was just a, you know, snap of a finger idea.

We've been we've been filming this content gathering since day zero of my

accident in Pocono in 2018.

And, you know, what's cool about this journey is, so if we reset way back to

when I started racing go-karts, you know, I had my parents video all my

go-kart races.

And what I wanted to do is my brother and I, we would go home.

We would plug in the camcorder into the TV and we would watch my race tape,

like game tape and figure out just critique my race.

Should I have passed?

Should I have defended more, you know, watch other classes, maybe like the

seniors in karting, like how do they overtake more aggressively?

And how do they do different stuff?

Silver lining of all of this is I basically have archive of every

karting race I've ever competed in.

Yeah, the production crew had a field day when they got the

terabytes of hard drives of everything that we have.

And it was, I think the end total is something like 15 or 20 terabytes

of footage to make this film.

And yeah, I'm just excited for everyone to see it and yeah, no better place

than to have an intimate screening, private screening in Long Beach,

because it's been a place that's been so close to me.

You know, it's an amazing event.

And again, similar last year, it's like my two worlds colliding, right?

My work with an IndyCar, my career in IndyCar as a driver.

And obviously the film is going to have a lot of IndyCar presence

as well as IMSA presence.

So yeah, couldn't think of a better place to show my close friends.

Been great.

Again, looking over the last year, so where just from the outside

observing, it seems like, OK, I'm seeing more cameras.

I'm seeing more sound people.

Again, as you mentioned, this has been going on for many years,

but really seem to have ramped up, I would say, coming off of your

championship with Brian Hurta Autosport TCR and IMSA's TCR class there,

moving into the big leagues, IMSA's top step,

whether tech sports car championship, DXDT, that amazing Corvette in GTD.

But really this big kind of return to the top step of professional racing.

What has that part been like for you?

Not necessarily on the documentary side, Robby, but the fulfillment

since that crash you've never been.

Well, let's see what I can maybe make for myself in life.

You've been in full mental attack mode of wanting to get back.

Tell me about this.

You're about to start a new racing season again.

It's been hard, but to be honest, it's exactly what I wanted.

You know, I wanted that challenge.

I wanted to get to the highest levels possible.

You know, I know IMSA, whether tech sports car championships,

the real deal, because nothing comes for free.

You know, you have to work hard for every inch of the track

for every tenth of a second in the pits, whether it fits for us

with driver changes or just general pit stops on track.

You know, so many different OEMs, so many different professional drivers

that have that are whether they come from Formula cars or, you know,

just been sports car guys their whole careers.

Like there's just so much talent on that grid.

And it's exactly what I was looking for.

You know, if I think back to how 2025 went,

there was a lot of positives to take away, but it was a little too turbulent.

You know, there were too many ups and downs, too many almost moments, right?

We kind of always peaked at the wrong parts of the weekend.

If I think back to my debut in Long Beach last year,

you know, I went quickest overall in second practice, surprising myself, right?

And then I could only qualify eighth and then, you know, the race was the race

and I left my teammate Tommy Milner with the impossible task

of trying to take competitive Corvette to the front on the twisty tracks of Long Beach.

And, you know, in that world, you kind of have to go all in all risk

to try and make moves happen.

And we finally got bit and we had to make an extra pit stop for repairs.

But it's just I'm just so happy with where I am.

You know, I would be even happier if I could have a full season.

So that's already the goal for 2027 and doing that, like I said,

nothing comes for free.

I need to prove my that I belong.

I need to prove that I'm not a liability behind the wheel, that I can make

some good sound decisions and build a strong team, a strong race car

and work well with teammates kind of all the above, right?

Sports car racing isn't a selfish individual sport.

Like I've been used to in my entire career leading up to this,

but never having to share the car with someone else.

So it's been everything's been a bit of an adjustment, but we're getting there.

Boy, Ravi, you could not write your path to the top prior to your crash,

even where you are now, unless you had a lot of alcohol to drink

and just freed your mind.

Any normal traditional path granted, you did start out traditional paths.

Junior Open Wheel here in America, really standing out from Atlantic and whatnot.

Hey, let's go to Europe.

Hey, wow, really successful there.

Rerouting to DTM.

Hey, the the what we call Aero McLaren today, their driver,

Makayla Lotion, not sure he's going to be able to make it in for the Friday.

It wrote America 2017 IndyCar.

Hey, could you hop in?

You've done a test beforehand.

You fly there, get an invite to come and be a full time IndyCar driver

in 2018, and that's just up to 2018, my guy.

And then the season you had prior to that crash.

Dang near one on pole to open your IndyCar careers, a Rook.

Dang near win that race.

Dang near win Phoenix after that going like hell at Long Beach.

You could have been on the podium for your first three races, my guy.

Is it OK to wax nostalgic about that?

Are you still too young and too much of a fighter to let yourself live in that space?

You know, I'm definitely I'm proud of what we did in 2018, right?

But it's at the same time I don't want to feel like a like a has been,

you know, like always talking about my glory years of 2018,

kind of like when I was, you know, like people in high school

that talk about like when they went to state for the football team or whatever.

Right. So, you know, I think I like to always look forward.

I'm proud of my accomplishments, my entire career,

whether if it was 2018 in IndyCar, DTM from 2012, 2017,

being Formula One reserve drivers.

Like I feel like there's a lot to be proud of, but on the same side,

you know, that doesn't really change where I am today.

And really from what I've done, I mean, obviously, I have loads of experience

and I've experienced a lot of very high level of motorsport,

which I think is an asset and a tool that I use every day,

whether if I'm coaching Andretti Global in IndyCar

or if I'm trying to get the most at a DXTT racing in our Corvette 06 GT3R.

So it's interesting, right?

I mean, I've driven Long Beach over a number of years,

but actually not that many times, right?

Like I drove it in Atlantic in 2007

and then IndyCar in 2018 and then, you know, in a GT3 car with Corvette last year.

So I love the place, you know, it's I have such fond memories.

Had a podium there in Atlantic, nearly a podium there in IndyCar.

And then, yeah, last year was last year,

but we'll hopefully we can write the script a little differently this year.

Let's close on this.

So return with DXTT Bosch has obviously been a huge part of that for you, Robbie.

You working directly with Bosch, developing the hand control system,

anti-lock braking integration system, huge advancements here.

Know that this is in your Corvette, but this isn't specific to that Corvette

or any one car, meaning Robert Wiccans, LMP2 driver, GTP driver,

IndyCar driver, Indy500, like are those things still possible

if the doors were to open for you to transport the system?

Take some money and time to connect, but is that possible?

Do you have a dream still to get back to the Speedway or somewhere else?

What else do you want to do with this system?

Yeah, kind of all the above.

You know, I mean, I think right now my focus is this be a full-time figure

in the MCW sports car championship.

I'm incredibly happy and honored for the support that I've had from GM

and from Corvette racing to be able to drive their great race cars.

And at all, like you said, stems from the partnership with Bosch

and their electronic braking system.

You know, it's such a compact, beautiful system

to no surprise of anyone that knows Bosch.

But yeah, I mean, as long as it fits in the car,

it can work with pretty much anything.

And we already know that it would fit inside of an IndyCar,

a current IndyCar.

I would have to compromise a little bit by, for example,

not having my like cool suit in there

because that would basically replace that in terms of space.

But you know, I think doing the Indy500 would be a dream,

an absolute dream.

You know, I don't know at my age,

like do I want to be a rookie again in IndyCar?

Now I'm 37 years old.

We'll see.

You know, never say never.

But on the same side, I think doing the Indy500

would be something special.

It's a race with so much history.

I did it in 2018.

Yeah, I mean, Marshall, you know,

when you're just in that paddock on race day,

like you can't not want to just be involved, right?

And once you've experienced it as a driver,

it's, you know, I've had the fortunate opportunity now

to work with race teams now for every Indy500 since, right?

And it's just not the same, the excitement, the adrenaline,

that when you're on the grid getting strapped into that car

with just the roar, the crowd, the flyovers,

the whole thing, it's unmatched.

With a race that's, you know, 110 years of running,

you know, it's never been done with the hand controls.

Like I think that'd be something pretty special, right?

And something that, you know, a legacy that I'd like to leave

behind, something that, you know, one day when my kids

are going through the museum at IMS, you know,

that we could be a part of history,

which would be something super special.

So, but I want to walk before I run.

I want to be a full-time professional driver

in the IMS and WeatherTech Sports Car Championship first.

But like you said, it would fit in an LMP2 car,

it would fit in a GTP car, it would fit in any GT3 car.

So we'll see.

I'm just incredibly thankful for the sport that I have

from GM and from Corvette Racing.

Matt Miller with the integration and the design

into their beautiful car.

And it's, it just works so well.

That's the thing that just blew me away

from the first test is how it just felt

like it just belonged in the car.

It was just engineered so perfectly.

And it allowed me to be the driver that I wanted to be.

When I was racing with Hyundai and TCR

with Brynard Autosport, I was constantly adapting

to the braking environment that I had

and the braking feel and the braking sensation

where my first lap in the Corvette,

I felt more on top of the car

than I almost ever did in the TCR car.

So it's, it was a really huge relief

to make that first lap at SeaBring last year

and to kind of know what I have

and then how we've built on it moving forward.

You know, we're constantly pushing the software side of stuff.

Hardware were more or less the same

because of homologations and a lot of, you know,

paperwork and everything else.

But we're constantly pushing the software

to make it better and better.

And we've learned actually from track to track

it needs some tuning.

So it's, yeah, it's been,

it's been a very enjoyable journey so far.

And I like to think that we're just getting started.

The weight of speed cannot wait for folks to see that.

Also, I hope I do not see Mark Wahlberg

because if I do, I'm going to tell him,

this is only part one of the Wiccans documentary.

You got a part two where he does the Rolex 24 Daytona,

Mobile 112 hours of SeaBring and the Indy 500.

And let's throw in Motul Petit Le Mans,

sale in six hours of the Glen.

Let's just get you on the full ticket ride here,

full season of IMSA and the Indy 500.

That's the weight of speed part two that I'm looking for.

We might as well throw in the Le Mans 24-hour while we're at it,

right Marshall?

You know, I mean, there's the Daytona 500,

Monaco.

You ever want to do a Monaco F1 Robbie, but seriously.

Yeah, sure.

Sure, why not?

You know how much you are loved in the paddock,

respected in the paddock,

how much of a inspiration you are to everybody

could not think of any individual who deserves a love

letter like this to you and your life and everything you fought

for, fought through with this documentary.

So, so happy for you, Robbie.

Can't wait to see you here in a few days at Long Beach

and here and see that beautiful Corvette

ripping around with you inside.

You and me both.

Thank you, Marshall.

MP 1690: Robert Wickens on The Weight of Speed Documentary, Start of IMSA Season

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