Wickens airlifted to hospital after vicious shunt at Pocono

The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver was challenging Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Andretti Autosport-Honda for fourth place through Turn 2 when his right-front wheel made contact with the left-rear of the Andretti machine.

The light impact was still enough to push the Andretti car up the track and hard into the wall, while Wickens’ car launched off the the rear of Hunter-Reay’s machine, and spun viciously along the top of the SAFER barrier, tearing up the catchfence and leaving parts of sidepod and a wheel in the fence as it went.

The SPM machine appeared to stay upright throughout, but was shedding debris all across the track, and the race was red flagged for almost two hours.

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Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Robert Wickens, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing Honda crash

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Photo by: Todd Dziadosz / Motorsport Images

Aside from IndyCar reporting that he was awake and alert upon arrival at the medical center, the team then issued a statement that read: "Robert Wickens has been admitted to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest Hospital in Allentown with orthopedic injuries. He is still being evaluated."

Other drivers involved included Wickens’ teammate James Hinchcliffe who spun to avoid him but was struck hard by the Dale Coyne Racing-Honda of Pietro Fittipaldi who subsequently reported feeling pain from his right ankle, which has recently recovered from a WEC shunt.

Takuma Sato was sprayed by oil from the stricken machines and shunted into the wall.

Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe – apparently in pain, but later discharged from the medical center with the all-clear – Fittipaldi and Sato all emerged from their stricken cars under their own power.