Four reasons CT e-Prix withdrawal was devastating for home hero Kelvin vd Linde

South African racing driver Kelvin van der Linde had eagerly anticipated his home race in the Cape Town e-Prix for the ABT Cupra Formula E team.

However, his excitement was cut short when the Mahindra team announced its withdrawal from the race due to rear-suspension issues, which subsequently led to the withdrawal of both ABT Cupra customer cars. The announcement would undoubtedly have affected Van der Linde's emotional state.

"Devastated! We are forced to withdraw all our cars from the remainder of the event due to safety concerns," Van der Linde said after the news broke.

"I was loving the energy from the home crowd, and after a very positive FP2 (second practice), we were looking great for qualifying. Sorry to all fans, this is not the way I wanted to end my home race weekend."

We look at four aspects that could have made the shocking news hard to accept for Van der Linde.

Devastated…We’re forced to withdraw all cars from the remainder of the event due to Safety concerns. I was loving the energy from the home crowd and after a very positive FP2 we were looking great for Qualifying. Sorry to everyone, this is not the way I wanted to end the day… pic.twitter.com/0W167MshMr

All-round disappointment

Firstly, as a professional racing driver, Van der Linde would have been devastated at the prospect of not competing in front of his home crowd. The Cape Town e-Prix was a highly anticipated event for the local fans and the entire Formula E community, given that it was the first time the electric racing series had visited a southern African country.

Van der Linde would have been looking forward to showcasing his skills in front of his family, friends, and fellow South Africans, and to miss out on that opportunity would have been a