BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
History will be made on February 25 when the ABB FIA Formula E Championship takes to Cape Town city streets in what will be the first ePrix held in Sub-Saharan Africa. South African Formula E driver, 26-year-old Kelvin van der Linde is set to race, making him the first African to participate in the race.
The fifth instalment of this year’s 16-round series promises to deliver a high-speed spectacle as 11 teams and 22 of the world’s best drivers, including Mzansi’s own Kelvin, tackle a 2.94km circuit in the series’ ultra-fast Gen 3 racing cars campaigned by manufacturers such as Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan and Maserati.
Born & raised in South Africa, Kelvin started his racing career in Karting at the age of 8 in 2005. Since then, Kelvin has won multiple National and International Titles, as well as one of the Worlds biggest Endurance races, the 24H of Nurburgring.
In 2011 Kelvin became the youngest ever driver to compete in a National South African Circuit event at age 14 and then went on to become South Africa’s youngest ever National Champion at the age of 16 years and 128 days the following year.
2013 was a breakthrough year for Kelvin as he made even more history when he won his first International Championship. At the age of 17, Kelvin became the youngest ever winner of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup and earned his place as a Volkswagen supported Junior driver for the 2014 season. Leading on from the previous year’s success, Kelvin wrapped up back to back European titles when he became the youngest ever ADAC GT Masters Champion at age 18 driving an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.
Kelvin’s success at a young age, promoted him to the role as an Audi Factory driver and since 2015, he has been competing as a Professional racing driver for the brand, winning some of the world’s most prestigious events.
South Africans and Africans at large are super proud of Kelvin for making it this far and have been showing him support since his participation in the race was announced, wishing him all the best.
Now that’s the true South African spirit!
