Sarel van der Merwe
| Sarel van der Merwe | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  South Africa |
| Born | December 5, 1946 Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
| Retired | 2002 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1975, 1977-1985, 1988 1994 1994, 2001 |
South African Rally Drivers Championship South African Saloon Car Championship South African Modified Saloon Car Championship |
| Awards | |
| 1976 1997 2002 |
Springbok Colours South African National Colours MSA Lifetime Achievement Award |
Sarel Daniel van der Merwe (born December 5, 1946) is a South African former rally driver, who was a multiple South African Rally Drivers Champion. He is sometimes referred to as "Supervan".[1]
Van der Merwe won the South African Rally Drivers Championship a record eleven times in 1975, from 1977 to 1985 and in 1988. Van Der Merwe also drove one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen for Hendrick Motorsports #17 Tide Chevrolet Lumina team in 1990 while the team's regular driver, Darrell Waltrip, was recuperating from a severe leg injury a month earlier, where he finished 24th.[2] He also held the SA Saloon Car Championship (1994), SA modified Saloon Car Championship (1994 & 2001), and won the 1996 Castrol International Rally in Swaziland. He received his Springbok Colours in 1976 and his South African National Colours in 1997. In 2002, van der Merwe was awarded the Motorsport South African (MSA) Lifetime Achievement award.[3]
Van der Merwe began his racing career in 1967 racing saloon cars. His international career took off in 1983 in the IMSA series in the USA, with his most notable win in the 1984 24 Hours of Daytona race driving for Kreepy Krauly Racing, an all-South African team in a March 83G-Porsche. He shared the win with Graham Duxbury and Tony Martin. Van der Merwe did exceptionally well in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans where he finished 3rd on debut. In the 1986 Le Mans race, Sarel pulled in a lap early and Jo Gartner took over. A lap later the suspension broke and the car veered off the Mulsanne Straight in the middle of the night and Gartner was killed.
He retired from competitive motor racing on November 23, 2002 after Round 12 of the Vodacom Power Tour at Kyalami.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ McGeorge, Lee (30 July 2009). "Supervan and Wyndham on track at Killarney". Motoring.co.za. Motoring & Independent Online. http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=768&fArticleId=5105538. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ van der Merwe drove in the race as a substitute driver, as Hendrick's regular driver was out with an injury.
- ^ "MSA Handbook 2007". MOTORSPORT SOUTH AFRICA. http://www.motorsport.co.za/Scoring/scoresheets/01_GCR_2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-22.[dead link]
- ^ "Sarel van der Merwe". HISTORIC RACING. http://www.historicracing.com/top100.cfm?driverID=1515&today=on&fromrow=1. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by LH Fekken |
SA Rally Drivers Championship 1975 |
Succeeded by Jan Hettema |
| Preceded by None |
SA Group 1 / Group A Championship 1977 |
Succeeded by Giovanni Piazzo-Musso |
| Preceded by Jan Hettema |
SA Rally Drivers Championship 1977 to 1985 |
Succeeded by Hannes Grobler |
| Preceded by GW Mortimer |
SA Rally Drivers Championship 1988 |
Succeeded by Serge Damseaux |
| Preceded by T Moss |
SA Saloon Car Championship 1994 |
Succeeded by M Briggs |
| Preceded by None |
SA Modified Saloon Car Championship 1994 |
Succeeded by Charl Wilken |
| Preceded by R du Plessis |
SA Modified Saloon Car Championship 2001 |
Succeeded by Johan Fourie |
 |
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