Kelvin v/d Linde named to race for stardom
RISING motorsport star Kelvin van der Linde has been nominated to represent South Africa at the African selection event of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.
The academy is a project by the world controlling body of motorsport to develop young driver talent worldwide. It offers a fully funded training programme that helps drivers to develop their motorsport careers.
Motorsport South Africa selected the 17-year-old Joburg student from a group of 25 applicants between the ages of 17 and 23.
Van der Linde, the youngest South African national circuit racing champion when he won last year’s Volkswagen Cup at the age of 16, leads the international Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup in Germany after winning three of the four races held so far.
He flies to the Nurburgring in Germany this week for rounds five and six on Saturday and Sunday.
The training and selection event of the Young Driver Excellence Academy for the Africa region is to be held at the end of next month.
Van der Linde is the third-generation champion from a distinguished motor-racing family.
His father, Shaun, won an international BMW Young Driver selection competition at the Nürburgring in Germany in 1993 when he was 19 and went on to win the South African Touring Car Championship for BMW the following year. He also won titles in Formula GTi and production cars.
His uncle, Etienne, is a former single-seater star who won national championships in karting, Formula Vee and Formula GTi and in Formula Opel Euroseries in Europe. He competes in the national production car championship.
Grandfather Hennie won three national saloon car championships in the 1980s.