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SA teen crowned 'King of Ring'

HOCKENHEIM, Germany - Kelvin van der Linde made South African motor racing history when he won the 2013 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup at the Hockenheimring with his fifth victory of the nine-round international series after starting fifth.

Another South African, Jordan Pepper, was third in the championship. Although the cars are powered by natural gas the drivers don't hold back on the track - watch the video to see all the racers and some thrilling track-bashing.

Watch the Scirocco R-Cup final video!

It’s been quite a year for the 17-year-old college student as he made his dreams come true on the international racing scene, adding several markers in the process. He won the natural gas-powered one-make series in his rookie year after earning the drive by winning the SA VW Cup in 2012, the youngest person to do so, according to VW Motorsport.

Linde was the only driver to win more than one race during 2013 and is the youngest winner of the German championship. He's also the latest from a distinguished motor racing family to have claimed an international championship – his uncle Etienne won the German and European Formula Opel championships in 1998. Both his father Shaun and grandfather Hennie won multiple South African circuit racing championships.

With a 43-point advantage over his nearest rival, Kasper Jensen of Denmark, and a 40-point lead over fellow SA-racer Jordan Pepper  – the only other drivers who could have won the championship this weekend - Linde had only to finish 12th to secure the title.

Jensen was second after starting fourth and Matthias Bauerle of Germany, who started from pole, was third. Pepper finished ninth after starting 12th.

VITAL VICTORY

Linde showed great maturity during the 11-lap (50km) race that saw the top eight on the grid covered by less than a second. He avoided trouble as the field bunched up going into the first corner of the opening lap and was fourth at the end of the lap.

He picked off the cars ahead of him as the race progressed, moving up to third on Lap 2, second on Lap 7 and into the lead on Lap 9. At the  flag he had opened up a one-second gap to Jensen and won going away.

Linde said: “I knew what I had to do and it all turned out right. I was careful at the start to avoid any contact with other cars and was aiming to just maintain my position and make whatever safe passes I could during the race.

"When I found myself third I thought I might as well try to win the race and did so without taking any big risks. This is a very important victory for me and will, I hope, open doors to my career.”

Final championship positions
1 Kelvin van der Linde (South Africa) - 348
2 Kasper Jensen - 295
3 Jordan Pepper (South Africa) - 256
4 Dennis Trebbing (USA) - 225
5 Michele Gatting (Denmark) - 214
6 Nicolai Madsen (Denmark) - 210
7 Manuel Fahnauer (Germany) - 198
8 Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky (Sweden) - 185
9 Ross Wylie (Great Britain) - 175
10 Victor Bouveng ((Sweden) - 160
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