Kelvin van der Linde made South African motor racing history when he won the 2013 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup championship at the Hockenheimring circuit in Germany on 20 October.
The win recorded his fifth victory of the nine-round international series after starting from fifth on the grid.
It was a giant leap for the 17-year-old’s dream of making an international career in motor sport and he racked up several milestones in the process.
He won the gas-powered one-make series in his rookie year after earning the drive by winning the South African Volkswagen Cup in 2012, the youngest person ever to do so.
He was the only driver to win more than one race during this year and is the youngest-ever winner of the German championship.
He is the latest from a distinguished motor racing family to have claimed an international championship. His uncle Etienne won the German and European Formula Opel championships in 1998. Both his father, Shaun, and grandfather, Hennie, won multiple South African circuit racing championships.
With a 43-point advantage over his nearest rival, Kasper Jensen of Denmark, and a 40-point lead over fellow South African Jordan Pepper, van der Linde had only to finish 12th to secure the title. Jensen was second after starting fourth and Matthias Bäuerle of Germany, who started from pole position, was third. Pepper finished ninth after making up three places from his start position of 12th.
Van der Linde showed great maturity during the hotly-contested 11-lap (50km) race, which saw the top eight on the starting grid covered by less than a second. He avoided trouble as the field bunched up going into the first corner of the opening lap and was fourth at the end of the lap.
“I knew what I had to do today and fortunately it all turned out alright,” said van der Linde.
“I was careful at the start to avoid any contact with other cars and was aiming to just maintain my position and make whatever safe passes I could during the race. When I found myself in third I thought I might as well try and win the race and I was able to do so without taking any big risks.
“This is a very important victory for me and will hopefully open up doors to my career. I am very grateful to Volkswagen for making it possible for me to compete in this important championship. And I am especially grateful to my family for their support and encouragement.”
