Kelvin van der Linde is Bridgestone SA /SA Guild of Motoring Journalists Motor Sportsman of the Year

Kelvin van der Linde, 18, the reigning Bridgestone SA / SAGMJ Motor Sportsman of the Year, has made it two in a row.

Van der Linde, who last year at age 17 became the youngest ever recipient of this prestigious award, has again been honoured this year, as the 2014 Bridgestone SA / SAGMJ Motor Sportsman of the Year.

The talented track racing star received the award at a function in Johannesburg today for his exceptional performance in the prestigious GP Masters Series last year.

The function was attended by nearly 200 of the most influential role-players in South African motorsport, including Kelvin’s proud father and former national champion Shaun van der Linde, his mother Bernadine and younger brother Sheldon (also a finalist this year).

Kelvin went back to Germany in his matric year to compete in the prestigious championship in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra of the Prosperia C Abt team. He and partner Rene Rast were the class of the field and won the title against some of the finest sports car and F1 drivers in the world.

This world-class achievement follows the former national karting champion and Volkswagen Cup champion’s victory in the 2013 International VW Scirocco R-Cup against drivers from 24 countries.

During 2013 he was also chosen to attend the elite FIA Institute Young Drivers Excellence Academy as Africa’s representative after an exhaustive selection process. This year he will be taking his burgeoning career to the next level with a full-time drive in the international GT Masters for the official Audi GT team.

The award, which recognises and rewards outstanding and remarkable achievements by South African motor sport competitors, was first won in 1964. It has been sponsored by Bridgestone South Africa for the past 22 years.