Sarel Daniel van der Merwe (born 5 December 1946) is a former

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and racing driver, who was a multiple

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n Rally Drivers Champion. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname "Supervan". 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's IMSA career included time at

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...

during the Corvette GTP era, which also led to one

NASCAR Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

start for the team. This would be at Watkins Glen in 1990 when Hendrick driver

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...

was recuperating from a severe leg injury at the Firecracker 400 final practice. Van der Merwe finished 24th by the end of the race. Van der Merwe attempted to qualify for the 1988 Daytona 500 in a Hendrick-owned car, but failed to make the race. He also held the SA Saloon Car Championship in 1994, SA Modified Saloon Car Championship (1994 & 2001), and won the 1996 Castrol International Rally. He was awarded the Motorsport South Africa (MSA) Lifetime Achievement award in 2002.

Racing career

Van der Merwe began his racing career in 1967 racing saloon cars. His international career took off in 1983 in the

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series in the United States, with his most notable win in the 1984

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race driving for Kreepy Krauly Racing, an all-South African team in a

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83G-

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. He shared the win with Graham Duxbury and Tony Martin. Van der Merwe did 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

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in the middle of the night and Gartner was killed. His father Sarel Sr. also had a history of racing and won an award from the

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company in Germany. Van der Merwe then moved up the ranks to sport a works team Ford Escort Mk II BDA. After leaving Ford because of a disagreement , Van der Merwe had a short stint in several Datsun cars and would later race with

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and

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. .His co-driver and navigator was Franz Boshoff. He retired from competitive motor racing in November 2002 after Round 12 of the Vodacom Power Tour.

Other activities

Van der Merwe also worked as a correspondent for South African motor publications in the 1970s.

Racing record

Complete WRC results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Der Merwe, Sarel 1946 births Living people Sportspeople from Gqeberha South African rally drivers South African racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 24H Series drivers Audi Sport drivers Team Joest drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Hendrick Motorsports drivers