Dainfern College

Gennaro Bonafede, a Dainfern matriculant from the class of 2008, has been selected to head up a three-man team in the 2011 senior race circuit. Gennaro was an impressive runner-up in class T of the 2010 Bridgestone Production Car Championship in his first season of senior circuit racing, and will head the three-man Ferodo-backed team in 2011. His team-mates, both of whom will contest the Engen Volkswagen Cup, are the experienced Lee Thompson and rookie Kelvin van der Linde – currently a Grade 9 student at Dainfern College.

Twenty-year-old Gennaro, now a Pretoria University engineering student, will again be at the wheel of the Ferodo Volkswagen Golf GTi. A former Engen Volkswagen Cup Rookie of the Year, Gennaro is the son of former rally co-driver Vito, who won seven national championships with Serge Damseaux between 1989 and 1998. Gennaro made a big impact in his first season of Bridgestone production car racing after three seasons with Team Ferodo Young Drivers in the Volkswagen Cup, winning three races on his way to second in class and giving notice that he will be a strong title contender in the new season.

Fellow team-mate Kelvin, who turns 15 on June 20, will be the youngest driver in senior circuit racing in 2011 and is the third generation of the famous Van der Linde racing family. His grandfather Hennie won three national saloon car championships in the 1980s, his father Shaun won five titles in Formula GTi, touring cars and production cars from 1992 to 2004, and his uncle Etienne won national championships in karting, Formula Vee and Formula GTi in South Africa and in Formula Opel in Europe and Germany in 1998.

Kelvin has acquired an impressive list of achievements since his first kart race as an eight-year-old in 2004. In 2008 he and his younger brother Sheldon made South African motor racing history when they both won National Karting Championships in the same year. Kelvin was both national and Northern Regions Mini Max champion in the Rotax Max Challenge. In 2010 he won two karting championships, taking the honours in the Engen National Karting Junior Rok class and also in the Northern Regions Rotax Max Junior Max category.  He missed out on a third national title by a mere three tenths of a point in the Rotax Max Junior Max class.

“We have a great blend of youth and experience in our team for next year,” said Ronnie Erasmus, motor sport manager of Federal-Mogul.  “It has always been Federal-Mogul’s intention to recognise young talent in motor sport and assist with its development, so we are delighted to have the latest racing Van der Linde champion in our team. I’m sure he will learn a lot from his more experienced team-mates. Gennaro enters his fifth season with us and has done us proud. We extend a warm welcome to Lee and Kelvin and look forward to a great new season ahead.”

The opening round of the 2011 WesBank Super Series, which hosts both the Bridgestone Production Car Championship and the Engen Volkswagen Cup, will take place at Kyalami on 5 March 2011.