Kelvin van der Linde

Kelvin van der Linde (born 20 June 1996) is a South African racing driver currently competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Asian Le Mans Series and GT World Challenge Europe. He made his GT Masters debut in 2014, also winning the championship that year, a feat he repeated in 2019. He won the 2017 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

Kelvin van der Linde
Nationality South African
Born (1996-06-20) 20 June 1996
Johannesburg, South Africa
Related toEtienne van der Linde (uncle)
Sheldon van der Linde (brother)
ADAC GT Masters career
Debut season2014
Current teamC. Abt Racing
Car number1
Starts84
Wins10
Poles7
Fastest laps1
Previous series
2015
2014
2013
2011–2012
2006–2010		TCR International Series
Blancpain Sprint Series
Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup
Volkswagen Cup South Africa
Karting
Championship titles
2014, 2019
2013
2011–2012
2008, 2010		ADAC GT Masters
Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup
Volkswagen Cup South Africa
South African Karting Championship

Racing career
Van Der Linde placed fourth in the 2017 Australian GT Championship driving an Audi R8 LMS

Born and raised in South Africa, Kelvin van der Linde started his racing career in Karting at the age of 8 in 2005. Since then, he has won multiple National and International Titles, as well as one of the Worlds biggest Endurance races, the 24H of Nürburgring.

In 2011 he became the youngest ever driver to compete in a National South African Circuit event at age 14 and then went on to become South Africa’s youngest ever National Champion at the age of 16 years and 128 days the following year.

2013 was a breakthrough year when he won his first International Championship. At the age of 17, Van Der Linde became the youngest ever winner of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup and earned his place as a Volkswagen supported Junior driver for the 2014 season. Leading on from the previous year’s success, he wrapped up back to back European titles when he became the youngest ever ADAC GT Masters Champion at age 18 driving an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

In 2015 Van Der Linde was promoted to the role of Audi factory driver, winning some of the world’s most prestigious events in the years that followed, including the 2017 Nürburgring 24H and Suzuka 10H.

Van Der Linde competed in the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Abt Sportsline. He won four races and finished third in the drivers' championship. He started the final race of the season fighting for the drivers' championship title with Liam Lawson and Maximilian Götz. During the race, Van Der Linde was involved in controversial duels with both Lawson and Götz. Lawson's car was damaged in a first-lap collision with Van Der Linde, who was given a five-second time penalty as a result. Towards the end of the race, Van Der Linde suffered a puncture in a battle with Götz and lost his chances to win the title, which eventually went to Götz.[1]

Days before the final round of the 2021 DTM season, Abt Sportsline confirmed him as their driver for the 2022 season as well.[2]

Racing record

Career summary
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup Ferodo Racing 10 0 0 0 1  ? 3rd
Volkswagen Challenge South Africa Ferodo Racing 16 12 16 15 12 152 1st
Autoquip
2012 Volkswagen Cup South Africa  ? 20 7  ?  ? 15 429 1st
2013 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup  ? 9 5 2 4 6 348 1st
2014 ADAC GT Masters Prosperia C. Abt Racing 16 3 4 0 9 214 1st
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Prosperia Abt Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2015 ADAC GT Masters C. Abt Racing 16 1 0 0 3 81 14th
TCR International Series Liqui Moly Team Engstler 2 0 0 0 0 13 21st
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2016 ADAC GT Masters Car Collection Motorsport 10 0 0 0 0 1 54th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP6 Prosport-Performance GmbH 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
2017 ADAC GT Masters Aust Motorsport 14 1 0 0 2 107 5th
Australian GT Championship JAMEC PEM Racing 12 2 0 0 5 516 4th
Intercontinental GT Challenge Audi Sport Team Magnus 2 1 0 0 1 27 5th
Audi Sport Team ISR
24 Hours of Nürburgring . SP9 Audi Sport Team Land 1 1 0 0 0 N/A 1st
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Audi Sport Team ISR 4 0 0 0 0 5 33rd
2018 ADAC GT Masters Montaplast by Land-Motorsport 14 2 0 0 6 136 2nd
Intercontinental GT Challenge Audi Sport Team MPC 3 1 2 1 2 40 6th
Audi Sport Team Absolute Racing
Audi Sport Team Land
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Attempto Racing 5 0 0 0 1 36 8th
Montaplast by Land-Motorsport
Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Attempto Racing 10 1 0 1 3 65 3rd
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - GTD Montaplast by Land-Motorsport 1 0 0 0 1 24 53rd
Stock Car Brasil Blau Motorsport 3 0 0 0 1 0 NC†
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Audi Sport Team Land 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6th
2019 ADAC GT Masters HCB-Rutronik Racing 14 3 3 1 7 205 1st
Intercontinental GT Challenge Audi Sport Team Valvoline 4 1 0 0 1 32 13th
Audi Sport Team Land
Audi Sport Team WRT
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Attempto Racing 4 0 0 0 0 10 24th
24 Hours of Daytona - GTD Audi Sport Team WRT Speedstar 1 0 0 0 1 30 3rd
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Pro Audi Sport Team Land 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
FIA GT World Cup Audi Sport Team Rutronik 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th
2019–20 Formula E Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Test driver
2020 ADAC GT Masters Rutronik Racing 13 1 0 0 4 160 4th
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 4 1 0 0 1 52 4th
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup 10 1 0 1 2 66 4th
24 Hours of Nürburgring Audi Sport Team Land 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6th
Intercontinental GT Challenge Audi Sport Team Valvoline 1 0 0 1 0 4 19th
Audi Sport Team WRT 2 0 0 0 0
2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Team Abt Sportsline 16 4 5 2 5 208 3rd
Asian Le Mans Series Phoenix Racing 2 0 0 0 1 27 9th
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Team WRT 3 0 0 0 2 56 5th
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup 4 0 0 0 1 9.5 22nd
24H GT Series - GT3 Pro 1 0 0 0 1 26 NC
Intercontinental GT Challenge Audi Sport Team WRT 1 0 0 0 1 33 7th
Audi Sport Team Saintéloc Racing 1 0 0 0 1
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Pro Audi Sport Team Land 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Team Abt Sportsline 2 0 0 0 0 20 5th*

† As Van Der Linde was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete ADAC GT Masters results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
2014 Prosperia C. Abt Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra OSC
1
2		 OSC
2
1		 ZAN
1
3		 ZAN
2
2		 LAU
1
7		 LAU
2
2		 RBR
1
10		 RBR
2
2		 SLO
1
6		 SLO
2
10		 NÜR
1
6		 NÜR
2
2		 SAC
1
1		 SAC
2
1		 HOC
1
10		 HOC
2
6		 1st 214
2015 C. Abt Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra OSC
1
17		 OSC
2
6		 RBR
1
10		 RBR
2
17		 SPA
1
Ret		 SPA
2
11		 LAU
1
Ret		 LAU
2
12		 NÜR
1
3		 NÜR
2
Ret		 SAC
1
Ret		 SAC
2
1		 ZAN
1
Ret		 ZAN
2
7		 HOC
1
3		 HOC
2
7		 14th 81
2016 Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo OSC
1
27		 OSC
2
10		 SAC
1
24		 SAC
2
20		 LAU
1
29		 LAU
2
Ret		 RBR
1
Ret		 RBR
2
16		 NÜR
1
12		 NÜR
2
24		 ZAN
1
 ZAN
2
 HOC
1
 HOC
2
 54th 1
2017 Aust Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo OSC
1
4		 OSC
2
9		 LAU
1
6		 LAU
2
7		 RBR
1
9		 RBR
2
21		 ZAN
1
2		 ZAN
2
Ret		 NÜR
1
6		 NÜR
2
1		 SAC
1
4		 SAC
2
6		 HOC
1
7		 HOC
2
20		 5th 107
2018 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo OSC
1
2		 OSC
2
Ret		 MST
1
9		 MST
2
8		 RBR
1
5		 RBR
2
13		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
10		 ZAN
1
2		 ZAN
2
11		 SAC
1
1		 SAC
2
2		 HOC
1
3		 HOC
2
1		 2nd 136
2019 HCB-Rutronik Racing Audi R8 LMS Evo OSC
1
2		 OSC
2
4		 MST
1
1		 MST
2
4		 RBR
1
4		 RBR
2
3		 ZAN
1
17		 ZAN
2
9		 NÜR
1
3		 NÜR
2
2		 HOC
1
9		 HOC
2
1		 SAC
1
19		 SAC
2
1		 1st 205

Complete TCR International Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2015 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Audi TT Cup SEP
1		 SEP
2		 SHA
1		 SHA
2		 VAL
1		 VAL
2		 ALG
1
4		 ALG
2
12†		 MNZ
1		 MNZ
2		 SAL
1		 SAL
2		 SOC
1		 SOC
2		 RBR
1		 RBR
2		 MRN
1		 MRN
2		 CHA
1		 CHA
2		 MAC
1		 MAC
2		 21st 13

† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2018 Jamec Pem Racing Garth Tander
Frédéric Vervisch		 Audi R8 LMS APP 241 27th 7th
2019 Audi Sport Team Valvoline Garth Tander
Frédéric Vervisch		 Audi R8 LMS APP 181 DNF DNF

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Engine Class No. 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points
2021 Phoenix Racing Matthias Kaiser
Nicki Thiim
Simon Trummer
 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 P2 5 DUB
1
3		 DUB
2
3		 ABU
1
4		 ABU
2
3		 4th 57

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points
2021 Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS Evo MNZ
1
4		 MNZ
2
1		 LAU
1
4		 LAU
2
3		 ZOL
1
1		 ZOL
2
8		 NÜR
1
1		 NÜR
2
Ret		 RBR
1
5		 RBR
2
6		 ASS
1
12		 ASS
2
4		 HOC
1
1		 HOC
2
10		 NOR
1
4		 NOR
2
17		 3rd 208
2022 Team Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS Evo II ALG
1
4		 ALG
2
6		 LAU
1
 LAU
2
 IMO
1
 IMO
2
 NOR
1
 NOR
2
 NÜR
1
 NÜR
2
 SPA
1
 SPA
2
 RBR
1
 RBR
2
 HOC
1
 HOC
2
 5th* 20*

* Season still in progress.

References
  1. Thukral, Rachit; Haidinger, Sven (11 October 2021). "Lawson hits out at "idiot" van der Linde after losing DTM title". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  2. "Kelvin van der Linde also in DTM with ABT Sportsline in 2022". ABT Sportsline GmbH. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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