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Revision as of 13:25, 4 October 2012 by IndyRaceFan2012 (talk | contribs) (Added recent 2nd place finish as the highest of the year and top for an Audi R8)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Dion von Moltke | |
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| Born | The Woodlands, Texas |
| Alma mater | Florida International University |
| Years active | 2004-Present |
| Known for | Professional Auto Racing |
| Awards | 9 Wins, 17 podiums, and 54 top 10 finishes out of 72 professional sports car races |
| Website | Dion von Moltke Official Website |
| Nationality |  South African and American |
|---|---|
| Born | (1990-07-27) July 27, 1990 (age 34) |
| Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series 2012 American Le Mans Series career | |
| Debut season | 2004 |
| Current team | APR Motorsports |
| Car number | 51, Current Car: Audi R8 LMS |
| Former teams | Racers Edge, MCM Racing, Starworks Motorsport, Doran Racing, Flat 6 Motorsports, Müehlner Motorsports, The Racer's Group, Alex Job Racing |
| Wins | 9 Professional |
| Best finish | 1st place 2012 American Le Mans Series in March 2012 |
Dion von Moltke (born 1990) is a South African / American race car driver who races professionally in the Grand-Am and American Le Mans series under the South African flag. He raced professionally in karting and also competed in the Skip Barber National Championship. He has won numerous championships from the local and state levels and also raced in the World championship Karting events in Italy. The Racers International Motorsports Connection called him one of the hottest and youngest drivers on the Grand Am Rolex Circuit. He is also the founder of the Perform 360 driver coaching program. He currently races in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series driving an Audi R8 and placed 1st in the GTC division at the Sebring Circuit for the 2012 American Le Mans Series season in March 2012.
Early life and education
Dion was born on July 27, 1990 in The Woodlands, Texas. His parents are both from South Africa and he has lived in Sydney, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami. He started his racing career at the age of 13 in Southern Florida. After moving to Miami, Dion was enrolled in a laptop-based school. He was not great with technology and his father wanted him to switch schools. He offered Dion the choice between a top gaming computer or a go-kart to move schools and Dion chose the go-kart. He then made the move to Gulliver Schools in South Miami. After a short time Dion began racing go-karts professionally which led to his current racing career. Dion attends Florida International University in Florida where he is a Junior in the College of Business Administration.
Professional racing career
Karting career
Dion's karting career began in 2004. For the 2004 season, he finished second in the EasyKart 100cc Summer Championship Series. He was also the pole winner in the Cope DeLas America's karting championship in San Carlos, Venezuela where he also won the first race. In 2005, Dion won the EasyKart 100cc Winter Championship Series and the WKA Florida State Regional Championship.
During his karting career, Dion won the 2005 WKA Florida State Championship in EasyKart 100, the 2005 Homestead Championship, and had numerous wins and podium finishes on the national and international senior circuits.
Dion finished 4th in the championship standings in 2006 while racing in the Spec Racer (TAG) class in the Stars of Karting Series. He won several pole positions and had numerous race wins in that series. He won the 2006 EasyKart 125cc Grand National Championship race and also placed top 10 in the EasyKart World Championship for that year, missing out on the fastest lap by less than one tenth of a second.
2007-2008 Skip Barber
He competed in the Snap-On and IRL sponsored Stars of Karting and Florida Winter Tour series for the ICA series, Dion also entered professional racing in 2007 when he completed formula car schooling at the Skip Barber Racing School. He had numerous podium finishes at major race tracks throughout the United States and was one of the fastest drivers on the circuit during that time. He was also named the most improved driver at the school in 2007. Dion von Moltke also made his Grand-Am Rolex Series debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2008 with Racers Edge Motorsports. He finished 13th in the GT class.
On April 5 and 6, 2008, he had a first place finish at the Skip Barber Mazda Speed Challenge. This was the inagural race for this Skip Barber event. He drove a Mazda MX-5 Miata during the race at the Laguna Seca Raceway near Laguna and Monterey, California. He was one of eighteen drivers for the race. He led the first day of the race from start to finish and won day 2 of the race by twenty-two seconds.
In 2008, Dion signed on as a driver with APR Motorsports to drive a VW GTI race car. He was only 17 years old at the time which made him one of the youngest drivers in KONI Challenge Series competition for the season.
2009
In 2009, Dion competed at Kyalami in the Westbank Super Modified V8 season finale. He raced a Jaguar XKR in that race which was sponsored by South African Airways. The race was won by his teammate Hennie Groenewald. Dion began racing in the Grand-Am Racing Series in 2009. He drove a Porche 997 GT3 Cup and drove for the Battery Tender/MCM Racing team for the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series season.
Dion won 1st place and received his first APR win at Watkins Glenn in 2009 at the Continental Tire Series APR Motorsport Golf GTI with co-driver Mike Sweeney. He also finished 1st place in Mid-Ohio and 1st place at Miller Motorsports Park.
2010
In 2010, Dion raced for Starworks Motorsport in the Grand-Am Series Rolex Daytona 24 hour where he drove a Riley Mk XI, a Daytona Prototype. He drove a Dallara Ford in the Daytona Prototype Class for the Grand-Am Rolex Series where he won highest placed rookie in Daytona Prototypes, finished ten of twelve races in the top 10, and was also the fastest Trueman Aiken driver in eight of nine sessions and was sponsored by PRNewswire, South African Airways, and Brand South Africa.
2011
Dion raced for Müehlner Motorsport in the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona while driving a Porsche 997 GT3. He finished 9th in class.
He also began racing in the American Le Mans Series where he completed the entire season in the GTC Class while driving a Porsche GT3. He was sponsored by PRNewswire, South African Airways, and SAABC and drove for The Racers Group (TRG). He had numerous top 10 finishes including a 1st place at Lime Rock, 2nd place finish at Mosport, and 4th place finishes at the 12 Hours of Sebring and at Road Atlanta?s Petite Le Mans. He had top 5 finishes in seven out of nine races and finished in 5th place in the driver championship. He also secured a 2nd place finish with his team for the team championship.
His first ALMS race was at Sebring International Raceway where he was teamed with James Norman and Peter Ludwig. He took 5th place in the GTC class and drove the opening 12-hours of the race. While racing at Long Beach with teammate Brenden Gaughan, he was in the top 3 but had a crash late in the race which resulted in a 5th place finish. His first place finish at Lime Rock was with teammate Mike Piera and was the first ever win for both drivers in the American Le Mans Series.
2012
Dion took 1st place in 12 Hours of Sebring while racing with Alex Job Racing with co-drivers Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler. He also took 1st place at the Palm Beach Grand Prix in the Pro Class while driving for Flat 6 Motorsports with co-driver Dr. Jim Norman. Both races were won while driving a Porsche.
In 2012, Dion was selected as one of the first drivers to race the 2012 Audi R8 LMS. He finished the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona with co-drivers Dr. Jim Norman, Emanuele Pirro, Ian Baas, and Nelson Granache. He is sponsored by PRNewswire, South African Airways, Parathyroid.com, and SAABC. He is competing in the entire 2012 Grand-Am Rolex series with co-driver Dr. Jim Norman.
In March 2012, Dion finished 1st in the GTC division of the Sebring Circuit for the 2012 American Le Mans Series season. His best finish of the year came at Lime Rock on September 29th in the APR Audi R8 in the Rolex Sports Car Series. He finished second place with teammate Jim Norman which was the highest results so far for the Audi R8 in a US sports car series.
Perform 360 driver coaching program
Dion is the founder of Perform 360, a structured driving program open to amateurs and professionals. The program teaches drivers different aspects of racing including car control, physical training for the driver, mental preparation, and how to present themselves to the media.
Awards and recognition
In karting, Dion won the 2005 WKA Florida State Championship in EasyKart 100.
In 2007, Dion was named the Skip Barber Most Improved Driver. He was also named the highest placed rookie in Daytona Prototypes in 2010.
South Africa adventure tour
In fall 2012, Dion will be hosting a South Africa adventure tour in partnership with South African Airways. Dion will join co-driver Dr. Jim Norman and South African national race car champion Hennie Groenewald. South African Airways is a current sponsor of Dion.
Philanthropy
Dion spends time with Best Buddies International.
References
- ^ FIU News. "Dion von Moltke feels the need for speed". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ "SA Duo Off To A Flying Start". Sawubona. December 2009. pp. 206–212.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - South African Association of Business Communities. "Racing his way to stardom & Time Square billboards". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Grand-Am. "Grand-Am Drivers - Dion von Moltke". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ Player Management International. "Fittipaldi and Papis form kart team". Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- ^ The Racers IMC. "Dion von Moltke Will Be Driving #77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara Sponsored By PR Newswire For Grand AM Rolex Series". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ AOL. "Car Racing Dream Comes True for Teenager Dion von Moltke". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ Go APR. "Dion Von Moltke, [[James Norman|Dr. Jim Norman]] to anchor APR Motorsport Audi R8 GRAND-AM in Rolex Series". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - Redline Review. "Audi Team Wins Big at Sebring". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ FIU - Be Worlds Ahead. "Dion von Moltke". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ Dion von Moltke. "Biography". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ Skip Barber Racing School. "Midwest Series Finale at Road America". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- The Race Site. "Dion von Moltke Dominates Inaugural Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge Race Weekend at Laguna Seca". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- Grand Am Road Racing. "APR Motorport Announces Signing of Dion von Moltke For 2008 Season". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ TRG. "TRG Take Commanding 1-2 At Lime Rock". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- American Le Mans Series. "Dion von Motlke Bio". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- Racecar.com. "Dion von Moltke's blog: New car, new opportunity". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- "Podium Places For The Audi R8". Audi World. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ South African Airways. "Join Dion on a South African Adventure Tour". Retrieved 7 August 2012.