Kevin van der Linde crowned Scirocco R-Cup champion 2013 19.10.2013: – Legends and Baumgartner thrill fans Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup HOCKENHEIM FINAL Exceptional talent Kelvin van der Linde was crowned the new king of

 – Legends and Baumgartner thrill fans


Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup  HOCKENHEIM FINAL




Exceptional talent Kelvin van der Linde was crowned the new king of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup in glorious sunny weather. The 17-year-old was overjoyed to receive the winner’s trophy from Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development, after his victory in a dramatic final race of the season in Hockenheim.


 “The season has drawn to a close with an exciting race, a worthy champion, great legends, and a remarkable race debut from Felix Baumgartner,” said Neusser.


New champion van der Linde was also congratulated on the podium by stratosphere diver Baumgartner, who started his race debut from 24th and climbed through the field to finish 19th. The 44-year-old Austrian was summoned onto the podium by the four racing legends, in recognition of his sometimes spectacular driving style.


The best-placed of the Legends was DTM icon and ARD expert Manuel Reuter (51/D), who finished tenth overall to secure victory in the Legends competition. Reuter had thrilled the thousands of fans in the grandstands with a lengthy duel against Le Mans winner Éric Hélary (47/F), who eventually came home in eleventh place.


Former Le Mans winners and DTM champions Frank Biela (49/D) and Laurent Aïello (44/F) also put on a dazzling display, featuring spectacular drifts and thrilling manoeuvres. They finished 13th and 15th respectively.


However, the young man at the centre of all the attention at a sun-drenched Hockenheimring was Kelvin van der Linde, for whom a fifth victory in nine races was sufficient to succeed Sweden’s Ola Nilsson as champion in the world’s only one-make cup run solely with natural gas-powered cars.


Twelfth place would have been enough for the South African to wrap up the title, but he once again demonstrated his exceptional talent in the final race. The intelligent young driver stayed clear of any risks at the start, but then started to pick off drivers at will.


He passed his closest rival for the title, Kasper H. Jensen (DK) on lap two and then proceeded to move into third place. Two laps later there was a change at the head of the field, as American Dennis Trebing overtook pole-sitter Matthias Bäurle.


When Trebing was awarded a drive-through penalty for leaving the track, van der Linde moved into second place and set off in pursuit of Bäurle. He eventually out-braked the German on lap eight before completing his victory without any further incident. In the overall standings, van der Linde ended the season on 348 points, ahead of Jensen (295). Third place went to South African Jordan Lee Pepper, who also won the title in the Junior Cup.





Teenager van der Linde comes from one of the most successful motorsport families in his native South Africa, with his grandfather, father and uncle all enjoying success in various racing series. He himself had won the Polo Cup in South Africa last year, and can now celebrate his greatest success to date.


Van der Linde was recently nominated as Africa’s representative at the Young Driver Excellence Academy 2013/2014, which is run by the International Automobile Federation FIA. He is also among the four finalists for 2014 on the Porsche Junior programme. The young South African will have fond memories of this week, and not only thanks to his title win – the new champion also officially received his driving licence on Monday.


 
Stefan Moser, Andre Dietzel, photos Volkswagen