Rinus VK ends international karting career with double podium in BNL Karting Series at Genk
Rinus VK made his final official racing appearance at an international karting event at the circuit of Genk in Belgium. In the BNL Karting Series, the future USF2000 racer finished second on Saturday and fifth on Sunday. This gave him third in the BNL championship. The result is provisional, as pending the resolution of a protest the final standings of the previous event at Ostricourt are still unconfirmed.
Rinus VK came to Genk with the objective of reaching the podium in the final classification of the 2016 BNL Karting Series. This Rotax Max championship was still up for grabs, and with some luck the KNAF Talent First racer would even be able to lift the title. To do so, he was dependent on the results of other drivers.
A BNL International Karting Series weekend consists of two similar days of racing, with a qualifying session, two heats and a final. Saturday qualifying gave Rinus VK a fifth starting position. The 15-year-old karter drove two very strong races. In the first heat he took the lead and won by a margin of over three seconds. In the second heat he took the lead again, but finished second after a series of exciting fights. These results gave him pole position for the final.
In the first lap Rinus VK lost a few positions, falling back to fourth. An exciting battle ensued with the strongest drivers in this competition, including current European Champion Nicolas Schöll, Berkay Besler, Glenn Paris and Jordan Brown Nutley. Brown-Nutley was in the lead, took advantage of the battle behind him and built a nice lead. Rinus VK won the battle for the second position, but couldn’t catch up with the British leader. However, the result gave him good points in the title race.
Sunday began on a soaking wet track. In these difficult circumstances, the Dutch driver qualified second. In the first heat Rinus VK took the lead, but couldn’t hold on to it and crossed the finish line in second. In the second heat Van Kalmthout finished third which meant he had to start the final from the next best starting spot.
In the first corner, on the outside, Rinus VK lost one place, but the KTF racer recovered quickly to regain the lead in the race. As his engine began overheating, his speed dropped back which cost him several positions. This meant that Rinus VK crossed the finish line in fifth in his last official Rotax Max final.
These results classified Rinus VK in third of the event as well as in the 2016 BNL Karting Series championship. The standings are provisional, though – a CAR case is launched to investigate Van Kalmthout’s exclusion from the entire previous event at Ostricourt.
Next week, as he turns 16 on the weekend, Rinus VK will have his Formula Renault 2.0 race debut at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in Italy. The youngster is looking forward to it: "The test sessions in the Formula Renault 2.0 went very well, so I'm really looking forward to the races in this powerful formula car. I have won a ticket for the Rotax Max Grand Finals at Sarno, but decided not to participate. I need to have my full focus on racing now and have handed my ticket to American Luke Seliken. I wish Luke best of luck at Sarno!"
Rinus VK is very pleased to have had a dignified farewell to a successful international karting career, scoring a double podium in the BNL Karting Series. "It is not easy to work on my future in formula cars in America and at the same time still be focused on my final few karting events. This third position gives me a great feeling and I want to thank Ramon Rietveld and Jeffrey van Bergeijk from RR Racing, my sponsors and my parents for believing in me. It's wonderful to be able to focus on my debut in motor racing now."
This season, Rinus van Kalmthout is supported by Jumbo Supermarkten, Ford dealer Ardea Auto, Stern, Total, Goedkoopdrank.nl and Lease Performance.