Fast tracking

The 17-year-old motorsport phenomenon will take his burgeoning career to the next level with a full-time drive in this year’s Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club GT Masters Championship as a member of the Prosperia C Abt Racing team.

Van der Linde will contest all eight rounds of the series, which features four-hour races at famous circuits such as Zandvoort in Holland, the Nurburgring and the

Hockenheimring in Germany.

He will share driving duties with top young Danish Porsche Cup and GT Masters driver, Nikki Thiim in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

The opening round takes place over three days at Oschersleben in Germany from 25 to 27 April. Each round consists of Friday practice and qualifying, with a race on Saturday and Sunday.

“I am naturally very happy to have secured this drive with the Prosperia C Abt Racing team,” said Van der Linde.

He’s seemingly meteoric rise to prominence in motorsport has not happened overnight. He already has eight years of national and a year of international competition under his belt. He started his career at the age of nine in karting and won the first of his two national karting championships at the age of 12.

Last year he won selection as Africa’s representative in the FIA Institute’s 2013/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy, where he has the opportunity to follow

in the footsteps of previous participants who have gone on to drive in Formula One and the World Rally Championship.

Van der Linde will have a busy year juggling his matric responsibilities and his racing commitments.

“I’m living my dream to become a successful professional racing driver, but I also realise the value of a good education,” he said. “It’s not easy, but then nothing that is worthwhile is easy. You have to put in the hard work and be totally dedicated. I feel very privileged to have all these wonderful opportunities and I intend to make the most of them.”