Ed Carpenter Racing
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VeeKay wins his first IndyCar-race in Indianapolis, Grosjean gets second place
- GPblog.com
Last night Rinus van Kalmthout wrote history by becoming the second Dutchman ever to win an Indycar race. Veekay' did this on the legendary circuit of Indianapolis. He managed to keep Romain Grosjean out of the race, but the Frenchman managed to get his first podium finish in the American racing class after starting from first place.
In the end, Veekay proved too fast for Grosjean, allowing him to cross the line first, for the first time in his young career. Even before the race, the 20-year-old driver had the feeling that it was possible to win."I did believe in it, yes. We already started very strong at the beginning of the weekend, we were so fast. So I'm very happy and grateful for the whole team. I really couldn't have done this without them," Veekay explained after the race to the official channels of the IndyCar.
Veekay wins on strategy
"Actually it's a perfect day. A year ago I took my first podium here and now I'm winning, it's really a dream". On strategy, Veekay eventually got past Grosjean, who was leading for a long time and looked to be on his way to his first win. Veekay got past them, however, also through a daring overtaking move. "I wasn't really worried about fuel. I was hoping there would be no rain and now I'm just standing in Victory Lane!"
For Grosjean, a second-place was ultimately the maximum he could achieve, but that is still the Frenchman's first podium in IndyCar. He last stood on the podium in Belgium in 2015, then driving for Lotus."We did very well this weekend. We learned from the start and we were tremendously fast> we were a bit unlucky with slower cars and traffic, but P2 in my third IndyCar race is definitely not bad," Grosjean concluded.