Publications
Partners
HOCKENHEIM, Germany - South African teenagers Kelvin van der Linde and Jordan Pepper impressed
at the opening round of the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup at Hockenheim,
Germany on Saturday (May 4) with fourth and seventh places respectively.
The event was their first visit to the historic German circuit and their first outing in the international one-make series contested by 19 young drivers from 10 countries.
Former German Touring Masters (DTM) champion and ex-Formula 1 driver, Nicola Larini (49) of Italy took victory in the race. Larini was competing in the Legends Cup for former winners of the DTM with guest drivers from other racing disciplines.
Second, and the first of the regular Scirocco R-Cup contenders aged 16 to 22, was Kasper Jensen (21) of Denmark and fellow Dane Michelle Gatting (19).
GIVING CHASE
Van der Linde (16), 2012 South African VW Cup champion, had impressed with second behind Larini in qualifying on a wet circuit on Saturday (May 4) and briefly led the race on the opening lap until slowed by the loss of the gas-powered car’s power steering.
Pepper (16) qualified 13th and did well to make up six places in the closely contested 11-lap race around the 4.5km Grand Prix circuit.
Van der Linde said: "It was a great experience. I quickly settled into the Scirocco after Friday’s (May 3) practice and qualifying. It’s a great race car and not that different from the Ferodo VW Golf I drove in the South African Production Car championship, although it’s a lot more sophisticated.
AIMING FOR VICTORY
“I thought I had a good chance of winning the race, run on a dry track, but the loss of power-steering made the car very difficult to drive and I had to work very hard to finish third among the regular Scirocco R-Cup drivers. I’m looking forward to the rest of the nine-race series and am confident we can pull off a win."
Pepper, who finished third behind Van der Linde in the 2012 SA VW Cup, was equally enthusiastic. “Although I was disappointed by my qualifying result after being among the quickest in Friday’s practice I had a good race and made a lot of passes. We can do even better and are confident for the races ahead."
The next round will be at the Red Bull Spielberg circuit in Austria over June 1/2, when there will be two races.
The event was their first visit to the historic German circuit and their first outing in the international one-make series contested by 19 young drivers from 10 countries.
Former German Touring Masters (DTM) champion and ex-Formula 1 driver, Nicola Larini (49) of Italy took victory in the race. Larini was competing in the Legends Cup for former winners of the DTM with guest drivers from other racing disciplines.
Second, and the first of the regular Scirocco R-Cup contenders aged 16 to 22, was Kasper Jensen (21) of Denmark and fellow Dane Michelle Gatting (19).
GIVING CHASE
Van der Linde (16), 2012 South African VW Cup champion, had impressed with second behind Larini in qualifying on a wet circuit on Saturday (May 4) and briefly led the race on the opening lap until slowed by the loss of the gas-powered car’s power steering.
Pepper (16) qualified 13th and did well to make up six places in the closely contested 11-lap race around the 4.5km Grand Prix circuit.
Van der Linde said: "It was a great experience. I quickly settled into the Scirocco after Friday’s (May 3) practice and qualifying. It’s a great race car and not that different from the Ferodo VW Golf I drove in the South African Production Car championship, although it’s a lot more sophisticated.
AIMING FOR VICTORY
“I thought I had a good chance of winning the race, run on a dry track, but the loss of power-steering made the car very difficult to drive and I had to work very hard to finish third among the regular Scirocco R-Cup drivers. I’m looking forward to the rest of the nine-race series and am confident we can pull off a win."
Pepper, who finished third behind Van der Linde in the 2012 SA VW Cup, was equally enthusiastic. “Although I was disappointed by my qualifying result after being among the quickest in Friday’s practice I had a good race and made a lot of passes. We can do even better and are confident for the races ahead."
The next round will be at the Red Bull Spielberg circuit in Austria over June 1/2, when there will be two races.