Van der Linde’s shot at a place in FIA academy

Following my remarks in this column last week, about the chances of teenager Kelvin van der Linde one day making his mark in Formula 1, comes the news that he has been nominated by Motorsport South Africa (MSA) to represent his country in the final selection for a place in the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.

It works this way. The FIA is based in Paris from where it controls world motorsport.

Its Academy, now in its second year after a highly successful introduction in late 2011, provides a fully funded opportunity for talented upcoming drivers to develop the skills they need to progress in their motorsport careers.

Headed by former F1 driver Alex Wurz and 2001 World Rally Champion Robert Reid, the curriculum includes the obvious driver-skills training and the theoretical and practical understanding of vehicle dynamics.

However, it also features sports psychology, nutrition and hydration, career management, marketing, sponsorship and commerce in motorsport, logistics and planning, as well as several other subjects.

And while these may not be of much use to the casual Killarney racer, they are going to be of inestimable value for guys aiming for the top.

Eighteen race and rally drivers will be selected for the next intake, with at least three from each of the world’s five regions, together with three wild cards. The regions are: 1) North and South America. 2) Western and northern Europe. 3) Central and eastern Europe. 4) Asia and Oceana. 5) The Middle East and Africa. Now, while that may be a pretty fair geographical split, if I was offered a choice I’d press for my candidate to be selected from region 5, with region 1 definitely last on my list.

So while Kelvin may have the luck of the draw in that regard, he’s not there yet.

So far he has been chosen as the South African representative from the five MSA nominees.

He therefore now becomes a candidate in the final selection process, which is only due to take place in September.

However, his record speaks for itself. He became the youngest ever South African national circuit racing champion when he won the 2012 Volkswagen Cup (for VW Polo saloons) at the age of 16.

That performance helped secure him a seat in the international Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup in Europe, a series he now leads after winning three of the four rounds held so far.

Incidentally, Kelvin is going to be in action in this category again this weekend, on the 3.4km Grand Prix circuit at the legendary Nurburgring in Germany.

Another subject that has been discussed before is the proposed Formula E world championship for electric cars.

And while the entry of the powerful Andretti Autosport team, followed now by the appointment of former Indy 500 winner and TV personality Gil de Ferran as Formula E’s Official Ambassador, is adding to the volume, my mind keeps going back to the ill-fated A1 Grand Prix series.

I feel any untried new product or idea is initially only as good as its sales pitch. The A1 sounded fine while the great Sheik of Dubai threw money at it. But when he was ousted, it kinda fell apart.

Formula E appears to have more going for it. The reduction of sound levels immediately makes it more environmentally friendly, a feature that the organisers plan to emphasise by staging the races on street circuits in major cities.

The stadium area and beachfront in Green Point could be a natural venue for a race like that.

But we still have niggles. Like the batteries only lasting 25 minutes, with the drivers then having to finish the race in a second car. Well, F1 have got tyre changing down to a couple of seconds. Will Formula E be timing the drivers as they run from one car to another?

Sorry, the jury is still out.