Alan van der Merwe
Alan van der Merwe (born 31 January 1980) is a South African race car driver, entrepreneur and current driver of the Formula One Medical Car.[1]
Alan van der Merwe | |
---|---|
Nationality | South African |
Born | Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa | 31 January 1980
Previous series | |
Championship titles | |
2003 | British Formula 3 Championship |
Racing career
Van der Merwe won the 2001 Formula Ford Festival.[2] In 2003 he was the British Formula 3 Champion,[2] and drove for Super Nova Racing in Formula 3000 in 2004.[2] His sponsorship money ran out mid-season and he took a contract as a part-time tester for BAR–Honda.[2]
In 2005 and 2006, Van der Merwe raced in the A1 Grand Prix series for A1 Team South Africa,[2] with a best placed finish of 7th in New Zealand. In 2006 he joined the Bonneville 200 MPH Club,[3] driving a BAR–Honda team car to speeds in excess of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) for their Bonneville 400 project; an attempt to set an official land speed record for a Formula One car on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats.[4] In 2008 he drove for James Watt Automotive in the 1000 km of Silverstone, part of the 2008 Le Mans Series,[2] finishing in 33rd place and completing 159 laps. He returned to A1 Grand Prix in 2009 in the final round at Brands Hatch.[2]
Van der Merwe has been the official driver of the FIA Medical Car in Formula One events since 2009.[5]
Racing record
Season | Series | Team name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final placing | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Formula Ford Festival | Unknown | 1 | 0 | 1 | NC | 1st | ||
British Formula Ford Championship | Unknown | 14 | 2 | 1 | ? | 2nd | |||
2002 | British Formula 3 | Carlin Motorsport | 30 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 8th | ||
2003 | British Formula 3 | Carlin Motorsport | 24 | 5 | 9 | 308 | 1st | ||
2004 | Formula 3000 | Super Nova Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14th | ||
2005 | Formula One | BAR | Test driver | ||||||
2006–07 | A1 Grand Prix | A1 Team South Africa | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
2008 | Le Mans Series | James Watt Automotive | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37th | ||
2008–09 | A1 Grand Prix | A1 Team South Africa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Super Nova Racing | IMO 8 |
CAT 12 |
MON 9 |
NUR Ret |
MAG 9 |
SIL 8 |
HOC Ret |
HUN | SPA | MNZ | 14th | 2 | [7] |
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006–07 | A1 Team South Africa | NED SPR |
NED FEA |
CZE SPR |
CZE FEA |
BEI SPR |
BEI FEA |
MYS SPR |
MYS FEA |
IDN SPR 9 |
IDN FEA Ret |
NZL SPR 7 |
NZL FEA 16 |
AUS SPR 16 |
AUS FEA Ret |
RSA SPR |
RSA FEA |
MEX SPR |
MEX FEA |
SHA SPR 8 |
SHA FEA 12 |
GBR SPR |
GBR SPR |
NC | 0 | [8] |
2008–09 | NED SPR |
NED FEA |
CHN SPR |
CHN FEA |
MYS SPR |
MYS FEA |
NZL SPR |
NZL FEA |
RSA SPR |
RSA FEA |
POR SPR |
POR FEA |
GBR SPR 15 |
GBR SPR 11 |
14th | 19 | [9] |
References
- "Driving the F1 Medical Car - the world's fastest ambulance". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- "Alan van der Merwe". Driver Database. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- Bonneville 200mph Club Members by Year
- Hanlon, Mike (18 July 2006). "Honda F1 car attempts land speed record at Bonneville". gizmag. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- "F1 unveils new Safety and Medical cars for 2015". Grand Prix Times. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- "Alan van der Merwe". MotorSport. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- "Alan van der Merwe Career Season 2004". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- "A1 Grand Prix - Season 2006–2007". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- "A1 Grand Prix - Season 2008–2009". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
External links
- Alan van der Merwe at Driver Database
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Anthony Davidson |
Formula Ford Festival Winner 2001 |
Succeeded by Jan Heylen |
Preceded by Robbie Kerr |
British Formula Three Champion 2003 |
Succeeded by Nelson Piquet Jr. |