“Considering how difficult this weekend was I’m pretty satisfied.”
Rinus ‘Veekay’ van Kalmthout – IndyCar driver at Ed Carpenter Racing
After the overture in St. Petersburg, VeeKay and his 26 IndyCar colleagues had to wait no less than six weeks for the next competitive event. Well, they competed for a million dollars at The Thermal Club in California, but this practice race did not count toward the championship. Thus, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was only the second official showdown of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
Dutchman Rinus van Kalmthout, known in America by his pseudonym VeeKay, shot out of the starting blocks in the streets of St. Petersburg. The single IndyCar race winner tussled with the fastest throughout the entire race and eventually concluded the race in a neat tenth place. A third-place start at the practice race two weeks later provided additional staying power. After a challenging 2023, VeeKay and Ed Carpenter Racing seem to have found their way to the front.
Racing on Long Beach’s street circuit, however, has so far always proved challenging for ECR, which has had to concede well over the front-runners in recent years. After qualifying for this year’s edition, the team found its drivers in 18th and 21st starting positions, with VeeKay ahead of his rookie teammate Christian Rasmussen.
At the start of the Acura Grand Prix, VeeKay traditionally showed his muscle. The North Hollander who has lived in Florida for years rushed to the fourteenth position in no time, passing some of his opponents in clever fashion. That the narrow streets of the famous circuit near Los Angeles offer no room for a small mistake teammate Rasmussen noticed. The unfortunate Dane had to retire after a touché with the concrete wall.
Using an alternative strategy, VeeKay then bivouacked in the top ten for laps, only to make his first pit stop after a third of the race. Where the talented twenty-something expressed particular satisfaction with the balance of the car, there he lost a lot of time at the tire change. His second service later in the race did not go smoothly either. As a result, VeeKay had to watch the competition pull away twice.
After 85 very intense laps, VeeKay crossed the finish line in the lead lap in fourteenth place, just a few seconds off the top ten. Towards the end of the race, the driver of the black-and-green car had to mainly take care of his tires, which did not bring the desired grip. Thus, fourteenth place turned out to be the maximum possible result. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was won by six-time champion Scott Dixon.
“A tough race, but it started very well,” VeeKay looked back on his race from the United States. “I was able to overtake nicely at the beginning of the race. That was our goal because we started with the soft tires. The speed and balance were fine in that first stint. Unfortunately, we lost some important track position at the first pit stop, so I lost the places I had gained again.”
“On the hard tire, my car did not perform as well. That made it difficult to make up the, in the pit lane lost time. I made the most of it and crossed the finish line in fourteenth place. All in all I think it was a good race, we have known for years that Long Beach is our Achilles heel. We scored points for the championship and the car stayed in one piece, that’s all we could do.”
“Considering how difficult this weekend was I’m pretty satisfied, I’m just balking at the lost time at the pit stops. Fortunately, we already get a retake next weekend. The next circuit suits me very well – I’ve been on pole position there before and finished on the podium once – so I’m looking forward to it,” VeeKay concludes combatively.
The 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season continues with the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, which will be held this Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, USA. The race gets underway around 7:30 p.m. Dutch time and can be followed live via Ziggo Sport Racing.
