Rinus van Kalmthout had to start from seventh place, so nobody expected a victory from the Dutchman in the IndyCar on the circuit of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, thanks to an excellent set-up, 'Veekay' crossed the finish line first and took his first win in the United States.

Sunday, in front of his parents, Van Kalmthout cried for the first time after winning a race."Very emotional, of course. We had to give up so much, had so many sleepless nights. Now winning, that makes up for everything", Veekay said in conversation with De Telegraaf.

Exactly five years after Max Verstappen 's first victory during the Spanish Grand Prix, Van Kalmthout won for the first time (after also a little over a year) at the highest level. "Very coincidental, but also very cool. I can see that it's stirred up a lot in the Netherlands as well." Thanks to Van Kalmthout's good performance, the popularity of the IndyCar Series is increasing in our country. The viewing figures of Ziggo Sport continue to rise each week.

Veekay looking forward to Indy 500

In two weeks time the Indy 500 is scheduled and then there are double points to be earned for the championship. Last year he was already very competitive, but a good result didn't happen. "Everyone knows that Ed Carpenter makes great cars for the Indy 500. That was also the case last year, but then my inexperience showed up. I'm assuming I'm a completely different driver than I was then. I want to do a lot more, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. But we have shown that we can do it, that I can do it", concludes Van Kalmthout.