A trio of South African teenagers have been performing exceptionally well on the international stage, namely Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Jeffrey Kruger. Between them, the youngsters have notched up three wins and two second-place finishes for the start of their respective seasons.
An ADAC Master
ADAC GT Masters debutant van der Linde made history as the youngest pole-sitter in the history of the series, when the Prosperia C. ABT Racing Audi R8 LMS he shares with German René Rast sat at the very front of the grid for the start of the first race at Oschersleben.
The pair finished three tenths of a second behind the winners’ (Maximilians Buhk and Götz) Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3, but fared better in the second race – which also made van der Linde the series’ youngest-ever race winner at 17 years old.
“I found the first half hour of the race quite nerve-wracking and was a bit concerned when I took over as race leader, as I didn’t know if I could hang on to P1 after the pit stop. But I then found myself further in front and just focused on finishing the race and managing the lead,” van der Linde explained.
A hot double
Van der Linde’s moved up from Volkswagen’s Scirocco R-Cup, which he dominated last year, leaving the reins to compatriot Jordan Pepper. The latter seems to have found his feet in the one-make series after an impressive debut last year (finishing third overall) and simply dominated the start of the 2014 season at the Hockenheimring.
The 17-year old started both races from pole and held on to the lead in both to take a brace of chequered flags.
“A double victory to start the season. The start of the Scirocco R-Cup season could not have gone any better for me. I feel very comfortable in the car. It goes without saying that the championship is my main goal this year. I said that even before this weekend. At least I now know that I am in good form, but there are still another eight races to come,” Pepper said.
A cup of Castrol
Also flying the South African flag high is 20-year old Jeffrey Kruger. After dominating the Polo R Cup in India last year, Kruger’s moved up to a Golf GTI in the Polish Volkswagen Castrol Cup.
The season opener at Hungaroring saw Kruger start from sixth for race one, which he finished in fourth. Race two saw the South African quickly progress to third, and claim second position on the very last lap.
“This is my first time at Hungaroring. I liked this track and my feeling behind the wheel got better and better with every session. Sixth place for qualifying in such a levelled pack of drivers was a very good result to start with. A fourth and second place finish was the best I could have asked for,” Kruger said.
We wish the boys well for their next outings and the season ahead.
ADAC GT Masters 2014 round two, 9-11 May – Zandvoort
Scirocco R Cup 2014 round two, 16-18 May – Oschersleben
VW Castrol Cup 2014 round two, 23-25 May – Eurospeedway Lausitz