Johannesburg - The remarkable rise of teenage motorsport prodigy Kelvin van der Linde continues with the announcement on Tuesday that he will be an official GT driver for Audi Sport in 2015.
The 18-year-old from Dainfern will be defending his 2014 GT Masters title with the support of Audi's in-house motorsport department, contesting the eight rounds - including one each in Holland and Belgium - that make up Germany's premier sports car series in a works Audi R8 LMS Ultra. He's also been promised a works Audi drive in selected Endurance races.
He'll be moving to Germany at the end of February in preparation for the opening round at Oschersleben on 24 April.
"GT Masters is very competitive," he said. "Many of the big brands use it to promote their sports cars, so the immediate objective is to defend the title for Audi.
"Who knows, a successful season could lead to an Audi seat in LMP1 endurance racing or DTM in the future. Either would be like a dream come true, but I'm just happy to be where I am right now, and I'm loving every moment."
NATURAL ABILITY
Van der Linde's career started in karting at the age of eight, and he proved his natural ability when he graduated to saloon car racing and promptly won the Engen Polo Cup title as a 16-year-old. This earned him a drive in the Volkswagen Scirocco Cup in Germany which he went on to dominate, winning the title.
The prize money Van der Linde earned made it possible for him to secure an Audi R8 seat in the GT Masters series as a Junior driver with Prosperia C.Abt Racing (sharing with René Rast, who has since moved up Audi's ladder), one of Audi's top customer teams. Victory alongside Rast in 2014 made him the youngest series champion yet - despite writing Matric at the same time.
In 2014 Van der Linde also became the youngest ever winner of the FIA Institute's Young Driver Excellence Academy, an initiative supported by the global motorsport controlling body to identify and nurture young talent.