Kelvin van der Linde ahead of ‘dream’ home E-Prix: “My phone doesn’t stop ringing and buzzing”

Kelvin van der Linde‘s “dream is actually coming true”, with the South African preparing to compete in an FIA World Championship race in his home country, at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix.

Van der Linde’s home nation are hosting the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the expectation being that it will more likely than not be the South African’s final race before Robin Frijns returns. Frijns has recovered faster than anyone could’ve predicted, with the Dutchman having been in contention to return this weekend. It was ultimately decided that it was too soon for Frijns to return; however, with the sixth round not being until the end of March, he’ll presumably be back for that.

With that in mind, Van der Linde will be hoping to make the most of his home weekend, with the South African having had his weekend in Hyderabad ridiculed by technical issues. He’ll be hoping for a clean event in Cape Town so that he can put on an excellent display, with the interest in the E-Prix being “enormous”.

“Now this dream is actually coming true and I’m driving a World Championship race in South Africa. We all hoped that Robin would be fit in time. But of course, I will now give everything to represent him decently in Cape Town as well. The interest is enormous, my phone doesn’t stop ringing and buzzing. I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”

“The pictures from Cape Town will go around the world” – Nico Mueller

Nico Mueller enjoyed his best race of the season last time out in Hyderabad, with the Swiss driver having come incredibly close to scoring the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team‘s first points of the season, after finishing eleventh.

His overall pace in India was the best he’s displayed so far since returning to the all-electric series this year, with the hope being that he can take his positive performance from India into this weekend in South Africa.

This weekend is set to be a thrilling one given that the circuit’s backdrop is one of the seven wonders of the world, something which Mueller is expecting to result in some incredible photography. The track itself looks very quick and is set to be the fastest of the season, something which Mueller believes will be a “challenge for us drivers”.

“After the first laps there, I think we’ll be facing the fastest track on the calendar. Especially with the Gen3 car and its higher output, it will be exciting and definitely a challenge for us drivers. We’ve been working intensively on our to-do list despite the short break after India and want to make further progress in Cape Town. The scenery will be impressive. The pictures from Cape Town will go around the world.”