Robert Wickens Biography: Facebook, Age, Wife, Kids, Parents, Brother, Net Worth, Nationality, Racing Career
Robert Tyler Wickens, known professionally as Robert Wickens, is a Canadian racing driver whose career has spanned open-wheel competition, German touring cars, and sports car racing.
A former Formula BMW USA and Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion who spent six seasons with Mercedes in the DTM, he made a celebrated IndyCar debut in 2018, winning Rookie of the Year honors before a catastrophic crash at Pocono Raceway left him paralyzed from the chest down.
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He has since returned to elite competition using hand controls, becoming the first paraplegic to win a major motorsport championship with the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR title.
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Robert Tyler Wickens |
| Stage Name: | Robert Wickens |
| Born: | 13 March 1989 (age 37 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Parents: | Tim Wickens, Lisa Wickens |
| Siblings: | Trevor Wickens |
| Spouse: | Karli Woods (m. 2019) |
| Relationship: | Married |
| Children: | Wesley Joseph Wickens |
| Occupation: | Racing driver |
| Net Worth: | $8 million |
Early Life and Education
Robert Wickens was born on 13 March 1989 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and grew up in Guelph, Ontario. Of Canadian origin and raised in a Christian household, he is the son of Tim and Lisa Wickens, and the younger brother of Trevor Wickens, who operated a Hamilton-based kart racing team and later managed a race team of his own.
Wickens was drawn to motorsport at a young age, inspired in part by the film Days of Thunder, and began karting at the age of ten, winning three Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championships between 2002 and 2005.
His family made significant sacrifices to support his career, including selling their house to fund his racing journey.
He attended schools in Guelph but left formal education at sixteen to pursue racing full-time, beginning his professional career in Formula BMW USA with Team Apex Racing USA in 2005.
Career
Robert Wickens began his professional racing career in 2005 at the age of sixteen, entering Formula BMW USA with Team Apex Racing USA with the support of a BMW Junior Scholarship.
He finished third in his debut season and claimed the championship in 2006, establishing himself as one of North America’s most promising open-wheel prospects.
He then moved to Europe, competing in Formula Renault, Formula 3, GP3, and Formula 2, where he became the first winner of the newly formed series in 2009 and finished runner-up in the championship.
In 2011, he won the Formula Renault 3.5 Series title, beating Jean-Eric Vergne to the crown, and also served as a Formula 1 test driver for Marussia Virgin Racing that same year.
From 2012 to 2017, Wickens competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) as a Mercedes-AMG factory driver, scoring six victories, fifteen podiums, and five pole positions across six seasons in one of the world’s most competitive touring car championships. His best championship finish was fourth in 2016.
In 2018, he returned to open-wheel racing with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the Verizon IndyCar Series, and his debut season was remarkable: he claimed pole position in his very first race at St. Petersburg, becoming the first driver to do so since Sébastien Bourdais in 2003, finished second at ISM Raceway, and earned four podiums and seven top-five finishes in thirteen races.
He was named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after leading two laps and finishing ninth, and he won the series’ Rookie of the Year award while sitting sixth in the championship standings.
On 19 August 2018, Wickens sustained a catastrophic spinal cord injury in a multi-car crash at Pocono Raceway that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Following months of intensive rehabilitation, he vowed to return to racing and, using hand controls developed in partnership with Bosch and Pratt Miller, resumed competitive driving in 2021 with a Hyundai Veloster TCR test at Mid-Ohio.
In 2022, he joined Bryan Herta Autosport in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, winning two races in his debut season.
He captured the 2023 TCR championship, becoming the first paraplegic driver to win a major motorsport title, and followed it with a runner-up finish in 2024.
In 2025, he moved up to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class with DXDT Racing in a hand-controlled Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and he continued with the team into 2026.
He also became the first disabled driver to test a Formula E car and remains a driver advisor for Arrow McLaren.
Social Media
- Instagram Handle: @robertwickens
- Facebook Handle: Robert Wickens
- Twitter/X Handle: @robertwickens
Personal Life
Robert Wickens married Karli Woods, a cosplay performer and television host, in September 2019 in Indianapolis, fulfilling a promise he made after his crash to stand and dance at their wedding.
The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Wesley Joseph Wickens, on 1 July 2022, and in September 2025 they welcomed twins, bringing their family to three children.
Net Worth
Robert Wickens has an estimated net worth of $8 million, built through a racing career that spans more than two decades across open-wheel, touring car, and sports car competition.
His primary income sources include race salaries from his time in the DTM with Mercedes-AMG, his IndyCar season with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and his current roles with Bryan Herta Autosport and DXDT Racing in IMSA.
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