DTM's Wickens takes turn in Hinchcliffe ride swap

Wednesday was Robert Wickens' day to swap rides with James Hinchcliffe, kicking off a friendly vehicle exchange that saw the Canadian Mercedes-Benz DTM racer get taste of an IndyCar at Sebring. The 27-year-old, who demonstrated talent in the Champ Car Atlantic series and on Europe's open-wheel ladder, ran a lap of 52.41 in the No. 5 Honda, besting visiting sports car ace Pipo Derani (52.69s) and Auto GP champ Luis Michael Dorrbecker (53.64s). 

"Such a cool experience getting to try out @hinchtown's @spmindycar here in Sebring," Wickens said on social media.

"James and I have been friends for years and this ride swap is something we've wanted to do for a long time," Wickens, who is coming off a career-best fourth-place finish in the DTM championship, said last week. "We've seen some other drivers do it in the past - Formula 1 and NASCAR and all that - and we thought it would be a cool opportunity to do with DTM and IndyCar. It wasn't easy planning it and making everything work ... Everything aligned and here we are."

Such a cool experience getting to try out @hinchtown 's @spmindycar here in Sebring. I'm jumping back in for a couple more laps this afternoon. #indycar #DTMA post shared by Robert Wickens (@robertwickens) on Mar 1, 2017 at 8:46am PST

Hinchcliffe, 30, will take his turn in Wickens' HWA-run Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM car at the Vallelunga circuit in Italy after IndyCar's season opener in St. Petersburg is completed on March 12.