Rinus van Kalmthout wins final Dutch Rotax Max Championship round at Genk

Rinus van Kalmthout wins final Dutch Rotax Max Championship round at Genk

 

 

Straight before leaving for the United States for his first test of the new USF2000 on the Grand Prix circuit of Indianapolis, Rinus van Kalmthout was invited by RR Racing to take part in the final races of the Dutch Rotax Max Championship. So, on the Belgian circuit of Genk, the 16-year-old KNAF Talent First driver entered his Rotax Max kart one more time before fully focusing on open-wheel racing. With three strong heats Van Kalmthout won this final Dutch event, and looked likely to win the final too, having built up a lead of no less than eight seconds. However, the youngster handed victory to former teammate Kay van Berlo, who thanks to this gallant gesture took the title in the 2016 Dutch Rotax Max Championship. The future USF2000 driver went on to finish second in the race.

 

Rinus VeeKay, the name by which Dutch race driver Rinus van Kalmthout will race in the United States, was invited by his coach Ramon Rietveld of RR Racing to appear one final time the Dutch Rotax Max Championship for senior drivers. The invitation fitted exactly into Rinus’ busy schedule, who is set to leave for the United States on Wednesday, October 5, for his first test of the USF2000 on the Grand Prix circuit at Indianapolis next weekend.

 

The KNAF Talent First racer showed in qualifying that even though he is now fully focused on open-wheel racing, he is still very competitive in karts, as VeeKay ended up second fastest, just three hundredths of a second shy of 2016 BNL Champion Glenn Paris.

 

 

In the first heat, Rinus VeeKay finished second on a very wet track after a very exciting race whereas on a dry track he won the second heat convincingly. In the third and final heat of the 2016 season, VeeKay simply drove away from his pursuers. At three quarters of the race he had built up a comfortable lead of no less than eight seconds, when his engine began to protest. The 16-year-old turned the engine off and on again and that solved the problem, but it had also diminished his lead, Kay van Berlo getting ever closer. The KTF driver gallantly handed victory to his former teammate and so Van Berlo became the 2016 Dutch Rotax Max senior champion. With two second places and a victory VeeKay was declared the winner of the event.

 

 

The young VeeKay is very happy he was able to perform well in his last season of karting. "I want to thank Ramon Rietveld from RR Racing, my sponsors, my parents, Ogden Racing Engines and Supertune for their support this year."

 

 

VeeKay will leave for the United States this Wednesday for the first USF2000 test, which will take place at the Chris Griffis Memorial on 8 and 9 October in Indianapolis.