Race two in Spielberg: Van der Linde dominates.

From eighth on the grid to victory: teenager Kelvin van der Linde produced an impressive display to complete a brace of wins in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup in Spielberg. Just as he did in the first race on Saturday, the 16-year-old South African came home first, ahead of the flying Dane Michelle Gatting. Third place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria went to Denmark’s Kasper H. Jensen. After three of the season’s nine races, van der Linde leads the overall standings on 80 points, followed by Gatting (72) and Jensen (67).

In race two, the first eight drivers from the opening race of the weekend started in reverse order. However, Sweden’s Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky did not get off to a good start and immediately dropped back to fourth. An exciting race saw Denmark’s Nicolaj Möller Madsen take the lead in front of Manuel Fahnauer, while van der Linde steadily worked his way through the field from eighth place. The overall winner of the 2012 Volkswagen Cup South Africa had already moved into the lead by the end of the second lap, and he proceeded to pull further and further away from the opposition.

The race for second place developed into a thrilling three-way battle between Fahnauer, Gatting and Jensen. Michelle Gatting, who started from seventh on the grid, once again demonstrated her fine form and pulled past German Fahnauer in the final corner. The Junior Cup driver ended up on the grass and consequently lost third place to Jensen on the finishing straight. However, Fahnauer did finish as the best-placed Junior driver.

“What can I say: Spielberg was a superb weekend for me! Two wins and the lead in the championship – I could not have wished for a better start to the season. My start was ok. Everyone opted for the inside line in turn 2. I just stayed on the  outside and pulled past using the Push-to-pass system. When I then passed Manuel, I was certain that I could win the race –  especially as everyone behind me was involved in fierce battles..”

OVERALL RESULT