Recently international motorsport has seen the return of events on the 2020 and soon the 2020 DTM season is set to start on 1 August at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Amongst the grid of drivers two South Africans shine bright as they will be representing the BMW works team, Sheldon van der Linde and Jonathan Aberdein.
Although van der Linde is no stranger to this motorsport class, Aberdein, however, will for the first time get behind the wheel of the BMW M4 DTM as he makes his debut for the Munich-based manufacturer. The relationship between BMW and South Africa is a long and prosperous one as the first BMW Group outside Germany opened in South Africa in 1973. Since then, more than one million BMW 3 Series vehicles rolled off the Rosslyn plant production line. Further showcasing South African ambition and talent is the BMW 530 MLE which was created at the Rosslyn plant just north of Johannesburg and is considered as one of the early steps of BMW Motorsport.
The 530 MLE would go on to attain much success, winning the Star Modified Racing Series three times in a row cementing itself as the world’s most successful 5 Series on the track. BMW has also seen success on local race tracks as the Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet won the World Championship title in the final Formula 1 race of the 1983 season at Kyalami. Not only was that BMW’s first Formula 1 title but also the first for a car with a turbocharged engine. Sheldon and his brother Kevin, also a racing driver, have strong ties with both the Kyalami racetrack and the BMW brand is Shaun, their father, regularly competed, using BMW cars, in the touring car scene around Kyalami.
“I grew up next to the race track from the age of about four, watching my dad race in a BMW at that time. That was my first memory of BMW and that was where it started. BMW stayed in my mind since then and that is why I always wanted to become a BMW driver one day because I grew up with the brand and I think it was clear that I wanted to take the next step at some point in my life and also be like my dad. He was my example and I obviously wanted to do what he was doing,” Sheldon van der Linde, Works Driver, BMW Motorsport.
Van der Linde joined the squad of BMW works drivers in the 2019 season and has even competed in a BMW on local soil during that season. Sheldon was at the helm of a BMW M6 GT3 as he represented BMW Team Schnitzer during the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge finale at Kyalami.
“I would have never expected to be in a BMW at Kyalami exactly like my Dad was long ago. For me, it was a very special event and one of my highlights of last year. It was my first ever home race as a BMW works driver and just having all the home support from the fans and BMW South Africa was phenomenal. There are so many passionate BMW fans in South Africa and I had the feeling that we had the majority of the fans on our side,” Van der Linde added.
Although the fellow BMW works driver, Aberdein’s father was a racing driver, he did not compete in BMW cars, however, he did inspire the passion his son has for the German automaker with the cars he owned privately.
“One day, when I was still pretty young, I arrived home and there was a bright red BMW M3 E46 in the garage that my father had just bought and I thought that was by far the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. That was a really high-performance car and it is still one of my favourite BMWs,” Jonathan Aberdein, Works Driver, BMW Motorsport.
“I’ve always liked all the BMW M3s and M4s that BMW has produced. And then, at the beginning of this year when I signed my first professional contract with BMW, that was a very special moment,” Aberdein added.
The two South Africans will surely enjoy a lot of support from local fans as BMW and BMW M models are a popular choice amongst South Africans.
“I myself have seen quite a few BMW and BMW M models on the road around Cape Town. They are a popular choice for South Africans”, Aberdein confirmed.
“The brand is very popular. Not only that people are enthusiastic when they see a BMW at a racetrack. You also see so many BMWs on the road, which is always a great feeling because you are part of the brand and so many people have so much passion for it. For many years, BMW in South Africa has enjoyed one of the highest market shares in M automobiles in the world. It’s a special feeling to be representing what so many people love in South Africa,” Van der Linde concluded.
