What does it take for Robert Wickens to win races? A fast car? A bunch of talent? A great team? Check, check and check–no surprises there. The only difference is that, while most racers use their feet to work the clutch, brake and gas, Robert uses only his hands in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
I am curious where this switch panel came from:
Looks like it was pulled from a car, but not the Elantra. Or maybe its an off-the shelf racing piece? Anyway, very cool story and a great example of how racing talent is racing talent, regardless of what limbs are involved.
In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :
Looks like a custom piece. The 6 button panel is available from several companies (linked below). The D-Pad looks OEM-ish, and the rocker switches look like aftermarket DPDT momentary rockers all mounted in a 3D printed enclosure.
https://www.murraymotorsport.com/murray-motorsport-remote-button-can-interface-keypad-blipkp-si-c
thats all the new rage - PDM. Totally configurable relay / switch thing with canbus / alarms / etc.
At Daytona in January I was looking at the hand controls on Wickens' car, and couldn't quite figure out what all the different parts did, so this article helped to fill all that in. It's pretty cool.
Glad to see Wickens doing so well, he's an awesome talent.
I saw Someone that put a motorcycle type clutch lever on his gear shifter as he did not have use of his left leg ,
I thought that was a simple way to solve the problem :)
Any chance of getting this article moved out from behind the paywall? This is a great article and subject, and would be really nice to be able to share with non-subscribers!
Update:
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge driver champion along with Harry Gottsacker.
when / if i can get out of the rat race, i'm gonna work on accessibility / mobility stuff.
californiamilleghia said:I saw Someone that put a motorcycle type clutch lever on his gear shifter as he did not have use of his left leg ,
I thought that was a simple way to solve the problem :)
The issue is that while it works, you need either really strong fingers, or some kind of power assist. Clutch pedal moves like 6-8 nches, clutch lever moves about two, and you are using your fingers not your ankle.
I believe it's called a duck clutch. There was a GRM forum post all about trying to make one that worked well.
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