Dion von Moltke

Dion von Moltke (born 27 July 1990, in The Woodlands, Texas) is an American-born race car driver who has participated under a South African racing license for the majority of his career. Von Moltke currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD class with Paul Miller Racing in the #48 Audi R8 LMS with co-driver Christopher Haase. His early career involved an upbringing in karts and the Skip Barber National Championship.

Early life Von Moltke was born on 27 July 1990, in The Woodlands, Texas. His parents are both from South Africa, and he has lived in Sydney, Australia, Los Angeles, California, and Dallas, Texas, before moving to Miami, Florida. While enrolled in a laptop-based school following their move to Miami in 2003, von Moltke's father offered him a choice of a gaming computer or a go kart to make up for the relocation, which led to the start of von Moltke's racing career. He later went on to attend Florida International University, joined the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, and began his professional career in 2008.

Racing career

Karts

Von Moltke's karting career began in 2004, when he finished second in the EasyKart 100 cc Summer Championship Series. His first victory came at the Cope DeLas America's karting championship in San Carlos, Venezuela. In 2005, von Moltke won the EasyKart 100 cc Winter Championship Series and the WKA Florida State Regional Championship. In 2008, von Moltke won the inaugural Skip Barber Mazda Speed Challenge at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. He also made his Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park with Racers Edge Motorsports.

In 2009, von Moltke remained with APR in the Challenge Series, while also competing in Rolex with MCM Racing Porsche. He earned his first victory in Challenge at Watkins Glen International co-driving with Mike Sweeney, followed by victories at Mid-Ohio and Miller Motorsports Park. In 2010, von Moltke participated in the Daytona Prototype class of the Rolex Series with Doran Racing for the full season and earned the Rookie of the Year title.

Von Moltke returned to the GT category in 2011, driving for the German Mühlner Motorsport Porsche team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, backed by PR Newswire and South African Airways. He also began racing in the American Le Mans Series' GTC category for Porsches with The Racer's Group. He completed the American Le Mans Series season with a win at Lime Rock Park and was fifth in the championship standings.

For 2012, von Moltke returned to APR Motorsport as the team moved into the Rolex GT category with an Audi R8 LMS, partnered with Jim Norman. with the Flying Lizard Motorsports team for the full 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season behind the wheel of the No. 35 Audi R8 LMS. Although the #35 kicked off the season with three top five finishes, bad luck and Balance of Performance issues plagued the team, finishing ninth in the GTD championship standings.

In January 2015, it was announced von Molkte would join Paul Miller Racing for the entirety of the race season, again competing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship's GTD class. He earned his second pole position three races later at Lime Rock Park. Von Moltke led his entire stint, but the car was later taken out by another competitor, ending their race. The Paul Miller Racing duo finished third in the GTD class championship, with von Moltke earning a total of four pole positions.

Personal life As of 2012, von Moltke resided in Coral Gables, Florida, while attending Florida International University while participating in motorsport. He is a member of one of the university's fraternities.

Results

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge

Rolex SportsCar Series

American Le Mans Series

TUDOR United SportsCar Championship