After a great qualifying session, Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout started the Harvest Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Road Course from pole position. Reigning IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden started the race with a rolling start from second place, with Colton Herta starting from third place. The latter had a good start and immediately took the lead from VeeKay, who was second after the first corner.
The 20-year-old Dutchman, however, did not intend to let the cheese eat off his bread. VeeKay did not show itself and fought back to first place after a great fight. Van Kalmthout then quickly drove away from the competition on his soft tire and hit a gap of more than five seconds to Herta in the opening phase, although he drove on the hard tire.
On lap 18 of 85, VeeKay was one of the last of the leading group to enter for fresh hard tires and just came back at Colton Herta’s door. A lap later, however, the Hoofddorper had to deal with upset when entering the straight, after which Herta closed the gap on soft tires and the Dutchman managed to catch up after another nice fight. At the same time, however, Newgarden managed to overtake both drivers through an overcut, leaving VeeKay third after the first pit stop lap.
Check out the delicious fight between VeeKay and Herta below. The article continues below the video.
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After the fight with Herta, the American disappeared on the horizon, but VeeKay did a solid second stint on the hard tire. After the second pit stop lap, Herta continued to run out and took over the lead from Newgarden. After the second pit stop lap, at about halfway through the race, VeeKay was nicely in third place, well ahead of number four Felix Rosenqvist.
However, on the third and final pit stop lap, VeeKay lost some time, falling back two places. He dropped back to fifth place and with more than twenty laps to go, he had to work hard for a place on the podium. Felix Rosenqvist and Will Power managed to overtake the driver of Ed Carpenter Racing, after which VeeKay started the hunt.
After he got stuck behind a rear runner (in the IndyCar you don’t have to move to the side if you are lying on a round rear bar) VeeKay’s stage dream seemed to be back in the closet for a while. Number two in the race, Herta, however, kept everyone behind because he had to save gasoline.
As a result, VeeKay was able to close the gap again and join the numbers two, three and four with six laps to go. Immediately he took fourth position from Rosenqvist, after which the struggling Herta had to become the next victim. VeeKay had five laps to drive to his first podium in the IndyCar.
The Hoofddorper pushed and pushed, knocked hard on his American competitor’s door. In a place where Herta did not expect it, VeeKay struck mercilessly. His first podium in the IndyCar is a fact. Newgarden won the race, Rossi finished second after a strong final phase.
Due to his strong qualification and excellent racing, VeeKay is doing good business in the rookie championship, where he is proudly in the lead. The title of best rookie can hardly escape him. The next race is on Saturday evening, also in Indianapolis.
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