The Johannesburg-based Ferodo Racing team of young guns Gennaro Bonafede, Kelvin van der Linde and Ernie van der Walt endured a character-building outing at Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria on Saturday in the seventh round of the WesBank Super Series. Van der Linde did well to …
Engen VW Cup championship leader Kelvin van der Linde was quickest in qualifying for his two races, claiming third in race one after drawing fourth on the grid and finishing a disappointed 27th in race two after having to pit to replace a flat wheel. …
The Ferodo Racing team came away from a challenging weekend in the streets of Durban with satisfying overall wins
for Gennaro Bonafede (Ferodo Volkswagen Golf GTi) in class T of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship and
Kelvin van der Linde (Ferodo Polo) in the Engen Volkswagen Cup, and a third overall for Ernie van der Walt (Ferodo
Formula Volkswagen) in the Formula VW Championship.
The uncompromising concrete walls and ’green’ surface of a 2,1-kilometre street circuit laid out between the Moses
Mabhida Stadium and the Sun Coast Casino caught out several of the drivers competing in the fifth round of the
WesBank Super Series on Saturday and Sunday.
Van der Linde increased his comfortable lead in the Engen Volkswagen Cup Championship with an impressive lights
to flag win in race one on Saturday, beating Kyle Barnes to the finish line by over two seconds after starting from pole
position. Former champion Mathew Hodges was third. The 15-year-old Johannesburg grade 10 pupil started race two
alongside polesitter Barnes and chased his rival to the flag, settling for a safe second place ahead of defending
champion Devin Robertson.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” said Ronnie Erasmus, Motorsport manager of Federal-Mogul, manufacturers of Ferodo brake pads. “This was their first experience of racing on a street circuit and they not only avoided crashing their cars, but they all enjoyed a successful weekend.
Kelvin van der Linde (Ferodo VW Polo Vivo) extended his Engen Volkswagen Cup championship lead in a day of mixed fortunes for Ferodo Racing’s team of young drivers at Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria on Saturday. On a sunny winter’s day at the popular Gauteng circuit, …
Back-to-back wins in both races of round three national championship Engen Volkswagen Cup at Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday saw 15-year-old Kelvin van der Linde of Dainfern strengthen his grip on the national motor racing championship that would make him the youngest title …
Kelvin van der Linde’s second Engen Volkswagen Cup win of the season in race two of round two at Killarney in Cape
Town on Saturday was the highlight of the day’s WesBank Super Series meeting for the privateer Ferodo Racing team.
The 15-year-old Johannesburg schoolboy, who was VW Cup rookie of the year in 2011, scored a close-fought overall
win for the day in his Ferodo VW Polo with third and first places in the opening back-to-back six-lap sprint races and
third in race three over 11 laps. Just 0,295 sec covered the top three at the end of the day’s 23 laps of racing.
After qualifying third and drawing sixth place on the starting grid for race one, Van der Linde made the most of a great
start to move into fourth place on lap one and then passed polesitter and former champion Matthew Hodges to take
third place, which he held until the finish. The race was won by reigning champion Devin Robertson from Kosie
Weyers.
An innovation in VW Cup saw two sprint races, with a short break in between while the cars remained on the starting
grid, followed by a third, longer race. The grid for race two was the reverse order of the top six finishers in race one,
with Van der Linde starting in fourth place. He again was quick off the start line and led the field at the end of the first
lap. He went on to win by a second from Kyle Barnes and 1,6 sec ahead of Weyers.
The start order for race three was determined by each driver’s second best qualifying lap time and Van der Linde
found himself down in eighth place. He had another great start and was soon involved in what would turn out to be
a race-long four-way battle for the lead between polesitter Weyers, Robertson, Van der Linde and Hodges.
The four talented youngsters thrilled a large and appreciative Cape Town crowd with a high-speed, nose-to-tail battle
that finally saw Weyers take the win from Robertson and Van der Linde with less than a second covering the top four.
Race wins for Kelvin van der Linde and Gennaro Bonafede were the highlights for the Ferodo Racing Team in the opening round of the WesBank Super Series at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday. Van der Linde (15) became the youngest ever winner of a senior national …
Following his phenomenal first year in senior circuit racing in 2011, when he became the youngest ever winner of the regional Goldwagen Challenge and finished third in the national Engen Volkswagen Cup, all at the ripe old age of 15, Johannesburg high school pupil Kelvin …
The Ferodo Racing Team for 2012 remains true to the brand’s commitment to recognising and supporting young talent
in motor sport.
Returning to the WesBank Super Series in Ferodo colours are 15-year-old Johannesburg grade 10 pupil Kelvin van
der Linde, who will contest his second year in the Engen Volkswagen Cup in a Ferodo VW Polo, and 22-year-old
Pretoria University student Gennaro Bonafede, who will enter his third year in the Bridgestone Production Car
Championship in a class T Ferodo VW Golf 6 GTi.
Joining the team for the first time is 18-year-old matric pupil Ernie van der Walt, who will compete in the Formula
Volkswagen Challenge in Ferodo colours. His car will be prepared by multiple former international and national
karting champion Derick Irving.
The opening round of the series is at Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria on Saturday (March 3).
The son of a Hoopstad maize farmer, Van der Walt was an impressive debutant in the single seater formula in 2011
and also represented South Africa in the international ROK Cup karting finals in Italy.
Van der Linde was equally impressive in his first year in senior circuit racing, making history at the start of the 2011
season, when he was just 14 years old, by being the youngest driver ever to take to the grid. He went on to
complete a remarkable debut season in third place and scored four podium finishes and three second places,
winning the Rookie of the Year award in the process.
The third generation of the racing Van der Linde family, he will again have his father, Shaun, and grand father,
Hennie, both former national champions, preparing his car.
Lee Thompson, who won the Masters’ title in 2011 in dominant fashion in a Ferodo VW Polo, leaves the team to
compete in a Mini in class T of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship.
Bonafede is in his third season of Bridgestone Production Car Racing and has established himself as both a race
winner and a strong candidate for the class T title. He also finished third in the 2011 championship and scored 19
podiums and a race win at Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante circuit. His car will be prepared by Vic Maharaj.