Third consecutive topten finish for VeeKay in spectacular Canadian race
For the third consecutive race in the NTT IndyCar Series, Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout has managed to finish in the top ten, as the fast Dutchman climbed from P22 to an impressive eighth place in the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
In good spirits, VeeKay headed to Canada for the first and only IndyCar race of the year to be held outside the United States. The street circuit around Exhibition Place in Toronto is a traditional midsummer destination, and following a stunning double top-ten finish at Iowa Speedway, where VeeKay finished fifth and ninth, the team was working hard to claim additional success.
Free practice in Toronto suggested that VeeKay could be a contender for a place in the Fast Twelve qualifying session but unfortunately for the IndyCar race winner, who was back in Canada in the black and green of Ed Carpenter Racing's #21 Chevrolet, the traffic was not in his favour during qualifying. The Dutchman was never able to get into a rhythm – each time a competitor was in the wrong place at the wrong time, making it a difficult session for VeeKay.
As a result, the ECR driver had to settle for 22nd place on the grid, on the outside of the 11th row. However, VeeKay did not leave it at that, and as soon as the green flag was waved, he stormed to the front of the field, moving up the order throughout the 85-lap race in Toronto. Just after the opening lap, VeeKay overtook two more rivals to move into 16th position before the first series of pitstops.
After the Dutchman swapped his hard Firestone tyres for the soft compound at the first pitstop, his job was to consolidate in the midfield. VeeKay did well to do this, coming through to the second pitstop in 16th place. After a fine stop, the talented twentysomething subsequently reeled in a number of his rivals. Where some started to show fatigue on the physically demanding street circuit, the ECR driver kept his cool.
Just before the end of the race VeeKay’s reactions were put to the test, as a spin by Pato O'Ward in front of him resulted in a chain reaction, but VeeKay managed to keep his ECR machine out of trouble. However, the race had to be stopped to clear the debris. At the restart, VeeKay was right on the heels of a couple of rivals – unfortunately the field suddenly bunching up in front of him resulted in a broken front wing, which had to be replaced in the pitlane.
Despite this extra stop, VeeKay was at his best in the closing stages of the race. In the blink of an eye, the ECR driver went from 12th to eighth place to be the best-placed Chevrolet driver at the end of the race. The race in Canada was won by Colton Herta. With 201 points, VeeKay is 15th in the IndyCar championship and still has a top-ten position in the standings in sight.
“Another top-ten finish,” said the Dutchman from Canada. “It was a particularly good day and a particularly good race for us. Of course I was disappointed to start 22nd, because you know that on a track like this you have to deal with a lot of chaos. The midfield is crowded and you will always find some obstructions in the road, which happened a lot towards the end of the race.”
“We had a good race pace and I would like to thank Ed Carpenter Racing for implementing a smart strategy. Especially at the end of the race, we made the right decision to switch to soft tyres during the caution. We have used this tactic before and we were rewarded for it, so I am happy that we took the risk.”
“After the difficult qualifying on Saturday, we came back rock solid on Sunday. I overtook 14 rivals, making me the ‘biggest mover’ of the race, together with Alex Palou, who went from 18th to fourth, and I also got my third top-ten finish in eight days! Now it’s time for the summer break as IndyCar makes way for the Olympic Games. In four weeks time we will be back at the Gateway oval. As far as the Toronto race is concerned, we can be satisfied,” concluded VeeKay with a smile.
The NTT IndyCar Series now takes a summer break, with action not resuming until Saturday, August 17, when the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is scheduled to take place at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. In America, the race is officially held on Saturday, but in the Netherlands it will be Sunday already, as the race starts at 00:30 Dutch time.
