Great start, middling finish, but Wickens still comes away from Long Beach smiling

The outcome wasn’t what DXDT Racing had hoped for, but Robert Wickens’ opening drive at the IMSA Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach won’t soon be forgotten.

Almost eight years since Wickens’ life-changing spinal cord injury sustained in an IndyCar Series race at Pocono, he led the first 25 laps from pole position in the specially adapted No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and beamed with joy after his time behind the wheel was done.

This was his first race stint after a long eight-month racing layoff, as Wickens hadn’t driven in competition since the 2025 IMSA round at VIRginia International Raceway.

"To be honest, that was a fairy-tale stint,” Wickens declared after his run. "The Corvette Z06 GT3.R was just so nice to drive around this track. Every lap is a dream.

“It was a good stint and a little fortunate with Danny Formal having a mechanical problem, and then I don't know what happened to the No. 57 (Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG), but suddenly we had quite a decent amount of space behind. We were a little nervous for our driver change on if we would lose time or at least maintain status quo. So the goal for me was to build a gap, just in case.”

In Formal’s case, the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 lost power with the Costa Rican driver running second. The Winward Mercedes-AMG would have to serve a mechanical black flag after it was flagged for running below the minimum tire pressure requirements, giving up second place as well.

Wickens wanted a four-second margin over the field to cover any potential time loss in a driver change, and he was able to get an even bigger lead than that once he came down pit lane.

“Mason (Filippi) did an amazing job (during the driver change), and I am pretty sure I just found out we had the fifth-fastest (time) in the pit lane. I'll take that all day,” Wickens said.

The dream lead didn't hold up, but Wickens, Filippi and DXDT Racing got their sprint season together off to a promising start. Jake Galstad/Lumen via Getty Images

The pit stop happened just before a full course yellow, and Mason Filippi retained the net lead for DXDT Racing. In just his sixth IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, the former TCR standout had the advantage on a track where passing was difficult. But Aaron Telitz in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus was able to maximize his restarts, and overtook Filippi for the top spot.

Things went from bad to worse for Filippi when Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW muscled his way past him into second place, pushing Filippi against the wall. The loss of momentum allowed Albert Costa’s Conquest Racing Ferrari, Corey Lewis’ Gradient Racing Ford, and Andrea Caldarelli’s Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario to pass him in rapid succession.

"We were all right on the pace all weekend,” Filippi said after driving to a sixth-place finish in GTD. "We got stuck driving behind some of the lap traffic there and got into it a little bit with the GTP car at the fountain. Then we got pushed into the wall pretty hard by another car. When that happened we lost kind of all of the momentum. Since it was right after a restart, everyone kind of came through.

“It's a bummer, you know, for the team. They did a fantastic job this weekend. We'll get it. It is what it is, but go to the next one and aim for the front again.”

Last season was the first year in Wickens’ career, pre- or post-injury, that he did not record a podium finish at any level of motor racing. He and DXDT managed a best finish of fourth place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

But fans hoping for Wickens, Filippi and DXDT Racing to get their first IMSA WeatherTech victories won’t have to wait long as the Monterey SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is just two weeks away.