Kelvin van der Linde

Kelvin van der Linde (born 20 June 1996) is a South African and German sports car racing driver currently competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Abt Sportsline. He is a two-time champion of the ADAC GT Masters, having won the championship in 2014 and 2019, and won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2017 and 2022. He made his formula racing debut in Formula E at the 2023 Diriyah ePrix, driving for ABT Cupra as a substitute for the injured Robin Frijns.

In 2022 he initiated the process for acquiring the German citizenship after living in Kempten, Germany, since 2014. In early 2024 the process was completed.

Racing career


Kelvin van der Linde, a South African, started his career in racing in kart racing at the age of eight in 2005.

In 2011, he became the youngest driver to compete in a National South African Circuit event at age 14 and also South Africa’s youngest National Champion at the age of 16 in 2012.

In 2013 he won the International Championship. At the age of 17, van der Linde became the youngest ever winner of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup and became a Volkswagen-supported junior driver for the 2014 season. He became the youngest ADAC GT Masters champion at age 18 driving an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

In 2015, van der Linde was promoted to Audi factory driver, winning the 2017 24 Hours of Nürburgring and Suzuka 10 Hours.

2021
In 2021, van der Linde competed in the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) for Abt Sportsline. He won four races and finished third in the drivers' championship. Going into the final round of the season, he was fighting for the drivers' championship title with Liam Lawson and Maximilian Götz.

During both of the final races of the Championship at the Norisring, van der Linde had similar incidents with Lawson. In the first race, van der Linde dived down the inside of Liam, with Liam finished in 3rd. In the second race the consequences were much more serious; Lawson's car was damaged in a first-lap collision with van der Linde, who again dived down the inside of Lawson, taking Lawson out of contention for the title as he finished 18th. van der Linde was then 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 after Mercedes issued team orders to the cars ahead of the latter to guarantee he finished 1st.

2022
Days before the final round of the 2021 DTM season, Abt Sportsline confirmed him as their driver for the 2022 season. After finishing ninth in points in 2022, van der Linde returned to the team for 2023.

2022–23 season
After Robin Frijns sustained a hand injury at the 2023 Mexico City ePrix, van der Linde was called upon to replace him at ABT Cupra for the rounds at Diriyah. In his first weekend in single-seater racing, the South African managed to finish 16th during the first race and 18th on Saturday, which he stated gave him a base to build upon for the following event.

2023–24 season
As a reserve driver of ABT Cupra, van der Linde returned for the 2024 Berlin ePrix, replacing Nico Müller who missed the event due to clashing commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Career summary
† 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)

Complete TCR International Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) † Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
 * Season still in progress.

Complete Formula E results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
 * Season still in progress.