BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Young Dutchman Rinus VeeKay accumulated valuable series points this weekend in the third and fourth rounds of the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. After starting the two races in seventh and ninth, the 17-year-old rookie made great progress, clinching fifth and fourth-place finishes for Juncos Racing at the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park.
With a commanding lead coming into the weekend, VeeKay was able to minimize the damage in the championship to exit the Alabama event just four points out of the Pro Mazda Championship lead.
After qualifying seventh for Race One, the 17-year-old had his work cut out for him. After reconfiguring the car setup and a good start at the drop of the green flag, VeeKay moved up to fifth early in the 25-lap race. VeeKay showed consistency throughout the race while putting pressure on third and fourth-place contenders, David Malukas and Andres Gutierrez, into the final laps, but eventually had to settle for fifth across the line.
With a ninth-place starting position for Race Two, VeeKay had shown great determination and grit amidst changing weather conditions. The slick track enabled VeeKay to make several daring passes on route to a fourth-place finish on the 2.3-mile road course. Despite the top-five result, VeeKay was frustrated that he narrowly missed out on a podium position, after the final five laps of the race were completed behind the safety car due to the wet conditions.
“Finishing fourth in Race Two when I think there was an opportunity for me to finish third was a bit frustrating,” remarked the 17-year old. “However, in the tricky conditions we stayed cool. The car is pretty good and we had the speed, we were the second quickest in the race, so at least that was there. Overall, it was a hard weekend, but we made the most of it and if we can keep this event as our worst weekend we will be in pretty good shape.”
VeeKay and Juncos Racing are determined to return to winning form as the series heads to the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 10-12. You can follow VeeKay on his social media channels,@FollowRVK and on the ProMazda.com website. Races will be streamed live on the Road to Indy mobile app and on RoadtoIndy.TV.
About Rinus VeeKay
Rinus was born and raised in the Netherlands and, at the age of 17, already has five race wins, including fourteen podiums on the Mazda Road to Indy. This season, the Dutch phenomenon will be competing in the Pro Mazda Championship on the Mazda Road to Indy with powerhouse team Juncos Racing. You can follow Rinus via his website FollowRVK.com as well as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.