Johannesburg - The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists’ 2017 Motor Sportsman of the Year is 21-year-old Kelvin van der Linde.
Double former award winner Van der Linde - who is only 21 years old - was honoured for the third time in five years for his achievements racing an Audi R8 in Australia, America and Europe, where was a member of the team that won the prestigious Nurburgring 24 Hours in Germany.
He is the second member of the Van der Linde motorsport dynasty, now in its third generation, to receive the Michelin-sponsored award - his uncle Etienne won in 1997.
His younger brother Sheldon was also one of the nominees this year, for finishing third in the ADAC championship in Germany in an Audi RS, and winning the 24-hour Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta in the United States.
Bernard Hellberg Jr (SA Guild of Motoring Journalists), Kelvin van der Linde's father Des and Gaganjot Singh of Michelin SA. Picture: SA Guild of Motoring Journalists
Other South African motorsport stars nominated were Matthew Scholtz, winner of the US SuperStock 1000 title and American Motorcyclists Association Hall of Fame inductee, former South African Superbike champion Sheridan Morais, who won the German round of the World SuperSport series, and 12-times South African Motocross champion Ryan Hunt, recipient of an MSA lifetime achievement award for representing South South with great success in international events over a career of nearly four decades in Britain, Europe, and the United States.
Closer to home, Wilhelm Baart was nominated for winning his class at the Jaguar Simola Hill Climb in his 735kW Nissan GT-R, and becoming the first driver to break the 40 second barrier on the Simola hill, while Richard Leeke got the nod for becoming the youngest driver yet to win a national rally with a victory in the Volkswagen Rally at the age of 21 - in fact he was in contention for the 2017 SA Rally title right down to the final round.
COLIN WATLING AWARD
Trish Watling, Des Easom and Bernard Hellberg Jr. Picture: SAGMJ
The 18th Colin Watling award for non-competitors in motorsport went to Des Easom and his team at the Western Province Motor Club at Cape Town’s Killarney International Raceway, for organising the final round of the 2017 World Rallycross championship - the first time that a world championship motorsport meeting had been run in South Africa since the SA Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phakisa in 2004.
MOTOR SPORTSMEN OF THE YEAR
1992 Greg Albertyn
1993 Greg Albertyn
1994 Jan Habig and Douglas Judd
1995 Jaki Scheckter
1996 Wayne Taylor
1997 Etienne van der Linde
1998 Alfie Cox
1999 Thomas Scheckter
2000 Grant Langston
2001 Schalk Burger and Piet Swanepoel
2002 Tschops Sipuka
2003 Alan van der Merwe
2004 Cornel de Villiers
2005 Alfie Cox
2006 Giniel de Villiers
2007 Serge Damseaux
2008 Tyla Rattray
2009 Giniel de Villiers
2010 Ralph Pitchford
2011 Leeroy Poulter
2012 Giniel de Villiers
2013 Kelvin van der Linde
2014 Kelvin van der Linde
2015 Leeroy Poulter
2016 Brad Binder
2017 Kelvin van der Linde