Wickens uses hand controls to drive parade lap at Toronto

Robert Wickens made an emotional return to the race track Sunday with a parade lap in a car equipped with hand controls before the IndyCar race in Toronto.

Wickens suffered a spinal cord injury in a crash last August and his ceremonial lap around Exhibition Place was his first time on a race track since the devastating accident.

Wickens drove a $160,000 Acura NSX modified by Arrow to allow the Canadian native to drive with hand controls.

FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2018, file photo, Robert Wickens prepares to qualify for an IndyCar series auto race in Long Pond, Pa. Nearly a year after his devastating injury in an IndyCar race, Wickens will indeed get to drive a car again at a race track. He will lead the parade lap Sunday before the Toronto IndyCar race in an Acura NSX equipped with hand controls.. (AP PhotoMatt Slocum, File)

"I am over the moon with how crazy this is," Wickens said before he got in the car. "This is just incredible. The support I've received the last 11 months is unbelievable."

His passenger in the car was fiance Karli Woods, and Wickens has been determined to be able to dance at least once with Woods at their wedding later this year.

"We've been through so much together, it's only fitting we do this together," he said of the parade lap.

The car was equipped with a camera that caught both Woods' initial trepidation, then wide smiles from the couple as they heard the roar from the grandstands. Wickens raised his arm out to salute the fans and then gave the command to start the race.

"Future drivers of mine, start your engines," Wickens said from inside the cockpit.

Wickens is adamant he will race again.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A race car veered off the track during a competition in Sri Lanka on Sunday and rammed into a crowd of spectators and race officials, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said.

Thousands of spectators looked on as the mishap took place during a race in the town of Diyatalawa in the tea-growing central hills, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the mishap.

Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said one of the cars veered off the track and crashed into spectators and officials of the event. Seven people, including four officials, were killed and another 20 were being treated at a hospital, said Thalduwa. He said three of the injured were in critical condition.

Thalduwa said police have launched an investigation into the accident, which was the 17th out of 24 events scheduled. The race was suspended after the accident.

About 45,000 spectators had gathered at the race circuit at a Sri Lankan military academy. The event was organized by the Sri Lankan army and Sri Lanka Automobile Sports.

People attend to the injured after a racing car crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)

People gather around a car that had crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)