Sheldon van der Linde

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Sheldon van der Linde
van der Linde in 2022
NationalitySouth Africa South African
Born (1999-05-13) 13 May 1999 (age 24)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Related toEtienne van der Linde (uncle)
Kelvin van der Linde (brother)
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters career
Debut season2019
Current teamSchubert Motorsport
Racing licence FIA Platinum
Car number31
Former teamsBMW Team RBM, ROWE Racing
Starts80
Wins5
Poles5
Fastest laps6
Best finish1st in 2022
Previous series
2017



2016
2015

2014		IMSA SportsCar Championship
ADAC GT Masters
TCR Benelux
Audi Sport TT Cup
Volkswagen Cup South Africa
South Africa Polo Cup Championship
Championship titles
2022
2015

2014		Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
Volkswagen Cup South Africa
South Africa Polo Cup Championship

Sheldon van der Linde (born 13 May 1999) is a South African motor racing driver. He has been competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since 2019, winning his maiden title in 2022.

Career[edit]

Van der Linde began his motorsport career at the age of six, racing karts in his native South Africa. He would go on to win multiple national titles before making the transition to racing cars in 2014. In his first season of car racing, van der Linde won the South Africa Polo Cup Championship in dominant fashion. He would go on to win the Volkswagen Cup South Africa the following year.[1]

For 2016, van der Linde raced in the Audi Sport TT Cup, one of the support categories of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He would make an immediate impact, winning both races of the opening round at the Hockenheimring. Scoring multiple podiums, as well as two wins, secured van der Linde fourth in his debut season. Thereafter, he has competed in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, ADAC GT Masters, and both Blancpain GT Series'.

DTM[edit]

Van der Linde making his debut in the 2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

2019[edit]

In January 2019, it was announced that van der Linde would be driving for BMW Team RBM in the 2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season; thereby making him the first South African driver to compete in the series.[2] He scored a pole position at Zolder and finished 13th in the standings, 19 points behind teammate Joel Eriksson.

2020[edit]

van der Linde remained with RBM for the 2020 season, this time alongside Philipp Eng. His season started out strongly, scoring his first DTM podium at the second round of the campaign at the Lausitzring. The South African followed that up by winning race 2 at Assen, a race in which he scored the fastest lap as well. A consistent season helped van der Linde to sixth in the championship, finishing as the second-highest BMW driver, narrowly missing out to Timo Glock.

2021[edit]

For 2021, the first DTM season to be run under Group GT3 regulations, van der Linde switched over to partner Glock at ROWE Racing as the team fielded a pair of BMW M6 GT3 cars in what proved to be their only season in the series. In the first seven races, he recorded five finishes in the top 10. After a fourth-place finish in the second race of the first round at Monza, he started from pole position and led 21 laps in the first race of the second round at the Lausitzring, but eventually received a five-second time penalty for a pit-stop infringement and finished in ninth place.[3][4] After experiencing his first retirement of the season in the second race of the fourth round at the Nürburgring, he also retired from both races of the next round at the Red Bull Ring. He finished sixth in the first race of the sixth round at Assen, before experiencing four consecutive retirements. His campaign ended with an eleventh-place finish in the drivers' standings, with the fourth-place finish at Monza remaining his best race result.[5]

2022[edit]

Team WRT's #32 BMW M4 GT3 driven by van der Linde, Vanthoor and Weerts during the 2023 24 Hours of Spa

For the 2022 season, van der Linde was chosen to partner Philipp Eng at Schubert Motorsport as the team entered the DTM for the first time by fielding a pair of BMW M4 GT3 cars.[6] In the second round of the season at the Lausitzring, he won both races.[7] He scored his third victory of the season in the first race of the fifth round at the Nürburgring, finishing ahead of his brother, Kelvin. It was the first time that two brothers finished 1-2 in a DTM race.[8] Going into the final round at the Hockenheimring, van der Linde was 11 points ahead of Mercedes driver Lucas Auer in the drivers' standings. In the Saturday race, which Auer won, van der Linde finished second after starting from 16th due to a 10-place grid penalty. He went into the Sunday race two points ahead of Auer in the drivers' standings, eventually winning his maiden title with a third-place finish, which put him 11 points ahead of Auer, who finished the race in seventh, in the final drivers' standings.[9]

Racing record[edit]

Career summary[edit]

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2014 South Africa Polo Cup Championship Ferodo Junior Racing Team 14 4 7 8 12 345 1st
2015 Volkswagen Cup South Africa Signature Motorsport ? ? ? ? ? ? 1st
2016 Audi Sport TT Cup Audi Sport 14 4 3 3 6 231 4th
2017 TCR BeNeLux Touring Car Championship Comtoyou Racing 3 1 0 1 2 105 16th
TCR BeNeLux Touring Car Championship - Junior 3 1 0 1 2 55 8th
ADAC GT Masters Aust Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 20 27th
ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship AC 1927 Mayen e.V. im ADAC 14 1 0 2 4 315 3rd
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Montaplast by Land-Motorsport 1 1 0 0 1 36 52nd
2018 ADAC GT Masters Montaplast by Land-Motorsport 14 1 0 0 6 136 2nd
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD 4 0 0 1 0 96 22nd
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup 1 0 0 0 1 34 10th
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 4 0 0 0 0
Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup 2 0 0 0 0 6.5 21st
Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup - Silver Cup 2 0 1 1 2 22.5 10th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Audi Sport Team Land 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters BMW Team RBM 18 0 1 0 0 42 13th
Intercontinental GT Challenge BMW Team Schnitzer 1 0 0 0 0 6 22nd
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2020 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters BMW Team RBM 18 1 0 1 1 108 6th
ADAC GT Masters Schubert Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 6 39th
Intercontinental GT Challenge Walkenhorst Motorsport 1 1 0 0 1 25 10th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 BMW Team Schnitzer 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd
2020–21 Formula E BMW i Andretti Motorsport Reserve driver
2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Rowe Racing 16 0 1 1 0 55 11th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Walkenhorst Motorsport 3 0 0 0 0 4 28th
2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Schubert Motorsport 16 3 2 2 6 164 1st
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro BMW M Team RLL 1 0 0 0 0 238 34th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Rowe Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2023 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Schubert Motorsport 16 1 1 2 4 151 4th
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Team WRT 5 0 0 0 0 26 11th
Intercontinental GT Challenge 5 2 0 2 2 68 5th
FIA GT World Cup 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 16th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTP BMW M Team RLL 3 0 0 0 1 851 13th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Rowe Racing 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
2024 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Schubert Motorsport
FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar BMW M Team WRT 2 0 0 0 0 10 8th*
Intercontinental GT Challenge 1 0 1 0 0 0 NC*
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Paul Miller Racing 1 0 0 1 1 319 3rd*
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Team WRT
Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 Rowe Racing

* Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results[edit]

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

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points
2017 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport GTD Audi R8 LMS GT3 Audi 5.2 L V10 DAY SEB LBH COA DET WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA PET
1 		52nd 36
2018 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport GTD Audi R8 LMS GT3 Audi 5.2 L V10 DAY
7 		SEB
4 		MOH DET WGL
12 		MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA PET
6 		22nd 96
2022 BMW M Team RLL GTD Pro BMW M4 GT3 BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6 DAY
9 		SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR PET 34th 238
2023 BMW M Team RLL GTP BMW M Hybrid V8 BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8 DAY
9 		SEB
2 		LBH LGA WGL MOS ELK IMS PET
7 		13th 851
2024 Paul Miller Racing GTD Pro BMW M4 GT3 BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin-Turbo I6 DAY
3 		SEB
 LGA
 DET
 WGL
 MOS
 ELK
 VIR
 IMS
 PET
 3rd* 319*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results[edit]

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

Year Entrant Chassis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2019 BMW Team RBM BMW M4 Turbo DTM HOC
1
6 		HOC
2
14 		ZOL
1
11 		ZOL
2
5 		MIS
1
9 		MIS
2
9 		NOR
1
Ret 		NOR
2
Ret 		ASS
1
10 		ASS
2
15 		BRH
1
8 		BRH
2
7 		LAU
1
16 		LAU
2
11 		NÜR
1
7 		NÜR
2
16 		HOC
1
16 		HOC
2
13 		13th 42
2020 BMW Team RBM BMW M4 Turbo DTM SPA
1
15 		SPA
2
6 		LAU
1
2 		LAU
2
15 		LAU
1
9 		LAU
2
10 		ASS
1
7 		ASS
2
1 		NÜR
1
8 		NÜR
2
6 		NÜR
1
8 		NÜR
2
4 		ZOL
1
6 		ZOL
2
10 		ZOL
1
13 		ZOL
2
7 		HOC
1
10 		HOC
2
9 		6th 108
2021 ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3 MNZ
1
11 		MNZ
2
4 		LAU
1
9 		LAU
2
5 		ZOL
1
16 		ZOL
2
7 		NÜR
1
6 		NÜR
2
Ret 		RBR
1
Ret 		RBR
2
Ret 		ASS
1
6 		ASS
2
Ret 		HOC
1
Ret 		HOC
2
Ret 		NOR
1
Ret 		NOR
2
16 		11th 55
2022 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 ALG
1
7 		ALG
2
8 		LAU
1
1 		LAU
2
1 		IMO
1
8 		IMO
2
5 		NOR
1
Ret 		NOR
2
15 		NÜR
1
1 		NÜR
2
9 		SPA
1
12 		SPA
2
2 		RBR
1
11 		RBR
2
11 		HOC
1
2 		HOC
2
3 		1st 164
2023 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 OSC
1
Ret 		OSC
2
11 		ZAN
1
2 		ZAN
2
10 		NOR
1
1 		NOR
2
3 		NÜR
1
7 		NÜR
2
17 		LAU
1
5 		LAU
2
13 		SAC
1
6 		SAC
2
Ret 		RBR
1
13 		RBR
2
2 		HOC
1
20 		HOC
2
4 		4th 151
2024 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 OSC
2 		OSC
2 		LAU
1 		LAU
2 		ZAN
1 		ZAN
2 		NOR
1 		NOR
2 		NÜR
1 		NÜR
2 		SAC
1 		SAC
2 		RBR
1 		RBR
2 		HOC
1 		HOC
2

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results[edit]

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

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2024 BMW M Team WRT Hypercar BMW M Hybrid V8 BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8 QAT
10 		IMO
6 		SPA
 LMS
 SAP
 COA
 FUJ
 BHR
 8th* 10*

* Season still in progress.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sheldon van der Linde - BIOGRAPHY". Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  2. ^ "BMW completes 2019 DTM roster with Sheldon van der Linde". 17 January 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  3. ^ Stritzke, Heiko; Haidinger, Sven (20 June 2021). "DTM-Rennen Monza 2: Geburtstagskind van der Linde sorgt für Audi-Doppelsieg". Motorsport.com (in German). Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. ^ Haidinger, Sven (24 July 2021). "Platz neun statt Podest: Warum Sheldon van der Linde für Stopp bestraft wurde". Motorsport.com (in German). Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. ^ "DTM 2021 results and standings for top drivers and teams". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  6. ^ Haidinger, Sven (17 February 2022). "Walkenhorst und Schubert BMW-Teams für DTM 2022: Wer die vier Fahrer sind". Motorsport.com (in German). Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  7. ^ Haidinger, Sven; Newbold, James (23 May 2022). ""Die Benchmark": Was macht Sheldon van der Linde in der Lausitz so stark?". Motorsport.com (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  8. ^ Ebner, Tobias; Haidinger, Sven (27 August 2022). ""Werde mir ein Foto ausdrucken": Van der Lindes schreiben DTM-Geschichte". Motorsport.com (in German). Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  9. ^ Thukral, Rachit (9 October 2022). "DTM champion van der Linde couldn't sleep ahead of title decider". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 20 October 2022.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
Champion
2022 		Succeeded by
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