main village After a solid performance during Saturday’s race in Detroit, Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout’s second class didn’t go as hoped. During the eighth race of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series, the Hoofddorp driver reached P18.
This weekend’s Belle Isle race in Detroit, Michigan consists of two races – one on Saturday and one on Sunday. VeeKay made his way forward in Saturday’s race. 20-year-old team driver Ed Carpenter Racing drove his #21 Sonax Chevrolet from 12th to handsome 2nd in a chaotic showdown. Thanks to this excellent performance, the 2020 Star of the Year for the 2020 season climbed to fourth place in the standings.
On Sunday, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix 2 was held at the racetrack in Belle Isle Park. VeeKay pushed into the Fast Twelve session to qualify for that match, just like on Saturday. In that Fast Twelve session, the Dutchman put in a solid performance for the third time, starting the race in Detroit from inside the second row.
Sunday’s race was less successful than Saturday’s. Ed Carpenter Racing again chose a three-stop strategy, which meant stopping early for the first service. This turned out to be a tactical misstep, as the rest of the leading group took longer to start.
After his first stop, VeeKay got stuck in traffic, widening the gap between him and the leading group. To make matters worse, the youngster had to stop on the second unscheduled hole after only sixteen of the seventy laps in the race. In a duel with Marcus Ericsson, winner of the first race, he was hit by a flat tire. From that moment on, it was no longer possible to achieve the best result. VeeKay had a number of tight lap times in the overtime track for the race and had some duels very special to him.
In the end, VeeKay took 18th place. The second game in Detroit was won by Patricio Oward, who also moved up the standings. VeeKay is a solid fifth in the NTT INDYCAR Championship standings after eight matches, with a tally of 243 points.
“Sometimes you end up front, sometimes you don’t. That’s what it is, the tactical decisions unfortunately didn’t help us today,” said Detroit’s Vichai. “I would like to thank Ed Carpenter Racing for this weekend – we finished second yesterday And we had a great prep session on Sunday morning. The strategic choice did not work, we needed additional neutralization and it did not fall. ”
“Here in Detroit I had a great Chevrolet engine at my disposal, the speed was good in both races. Of course I prefer to finish both races on the podium, but the positive thing is that we are strong in the middle standings. I am really looking forward to next week when we ride my favorite track at United State! “
Next weekend, the NTT INDYCAR Series drivers will race again, this time for the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. VeeKay has had three wins on this track in the past – one at the Indy Lights (2019) and two at the USF2000 (2017).
