Sheldon van der Linde grew up at the race track watching his father Shaun compete in Supertouring and Production Car racing — he immediately knew what he wanted to become one day – a professional race driver.
Sheldon started racing in 2006 at the tender age of 5 years old with the common first step, karting. Sheldon won two national and three regional Karting titles in South Africa before stepping up to circuit racing in 2014, when he immediately won the Engen Volkswagen Overall and Rookie Championship in his debut year to take the youngest South African circuit racing race winner and champion records off his brother Kelvin.
A second Engen Volkswagen Cup Championship followed in 2015 with Sheldon taking the most pole positions and podiums in only his second season to be nominated for SAGMJ Motorsportsman of the Year award, amongst others.
2016 is Sheldon’s breakthrough - his first season of International motorsport and the perfect opportunity for me to prove himself against the best in the world.
Sheldon was also selected to the all-new Audi Sport Racing Academy Programme aimed at providing us with all the required skills and tools on and off the race track in order to become Professional Racing Driver’s at the highest level. The development takes place over 2 years with the opportunity at a test with the LMP1 or DTM car at the end of the 2 years.
Sheldon had a winning start to his 2016 Audi Sport TT Cup Championship with a double victory on his debut in the series.
About Sheldon
Nationality: South African (RSA)
Born: 13 May 1999, Johannesburg, South Africa
Lives: Fourways South Africa
Age: 17
Height: 183cm
Weight: 60kg
Education: Brainline Online Schooling, Grade 11
Other Interests: Cycling; Training; Sim-Racing
Racing Ambition: DTM/FIA World Endurance Championship
Racing CV
2006 - Racing debut - Cadet Karting
2008 - South African GP Junior Karting Champion
2010 - South African Mini Max Karting Champion
2014 - South African Engen Polo Cup Champion
2015 - South African Engen Polo Cup Champion
2016 - Audi Sport TT Cup
Audi Sport Academy Driver
Contact Person: Motorsport Media
Contact Email: Motorsport Media
Website: http://sheldonvanderlinde.com/