Kelvin van der Linde’s career has followed a clear pattern from the very beginning. He adapts quickly and he fights at the front.
The South African began karting at the age of eight and wasted little time in rewriting record books. At just 14, he became the youngest driver to compete in a National South African Circuit event. Two years later, he secured the title of South Africa’s youngest National Champion.
His rise continued at remarkable speed. At 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup. A year later, he added another milestone by becoming the youngest ADAC GT Masters champion. Success in endurance racing followed, including victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2017 and triumph at the Suzuka 10 Hours. He claimed a second ADAC GT Masters title in 2019 and soon stepped onto the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) stage.
DTM and unfinished business
Van der Linde made an immediate impression in the DTM with ABT Sportsline in 2021, winning four races and finishing third in the drivers’ standings. He returned to the championship fight in 2024 and finished second overall, narrowly missing out on the title.
The 2022 campaign proved more challenging in the DTM, although he secured a second Nürburgring 24 Hours victory that same season. In 2023, he added another DTM race win and made his Formula E debut with ABT Cupra, contesting three races.
After a one-year absence from the DTM grid, van der Linde now returns with renewed motivation. In 2026, he will compete for Schubert Motorsport in the BMW M4 GT3 EVO alongside Marco Wittmann as the team targets the drivers’, team and manufacturers’ championships.
Schubert Motorsport enters the new season determined to build on a near miss in 2025, when it fought for the title until the final round at Hockenheim. With van der Linde replacing René Rast, the team has paired proven experience with a driver who has twice come close to lifting the DTM crown.
A career built in GT racing
Van der Linde’s path differs from many modern drivers. He never pursued single-seaters as a primary objective. Instead, he committed early to touring cars and GT racing, a decision that shaped his entire career.
Speaking exclusively to Pit Debrief ahead of the 2026 GTWC Sprint Cup final in Valencia, he explained why GT racing became his natural home.
“Well, for me, it was never single-seaters to begin with. To be honest, I started in touring cars from a young age. I drove in the Scirocco Cup and I moved straight to GT after that. And in South Africa, I was racing in the Polar Cup Championship, which is a one make series as well.”
He believes the growth of GT racing over the last decade has transformed the category into one of motorsport’s most significant platforms.
“But GT racing, I think when I started in 2014, you can’t compare it to what GT racing is today. I think nobody realised at that time that GT racing had become such a big part of the motorsport scope.”
He pointed to the prestige of endurance classics as evidence of that evolution.
“It’s become, in my opinion, if you look at 24 Hours of Nürburgring and 24 Hours Spa, just those two races alone have become one of the most iconic races in all of motorsport on the motorsport calendar. And that has just been an evolution over the last 10 years. But if you rewind that time, nobody could have guessed that that would have been the case.”
Looking back, he sees his early move into GT3 machinery as fortunate timing.
“And so I would say in my case, particularly I got a little bit lucky to get into GT3 racing when I did. And yeah, just been very lucky to ride the wave of GT racing as it’s grown and as more manufacturers have joined.”
GTWC 2025 Sprint Cup success adds momentum
Van der Linde’s switch to BMW machinery has already delivered silverware. Alongside Charles Weerts, he secured the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup title in a heated finale in Valencia. The pair demonstrated consistency and composure under pressure throughout the season, sealing the championship after a battle that went down to the final round. The Sprint Cup triumph reinforced van der Linde’s reputation as one of GT racing’s most complete drivers.
Mental reset and motivation
Before his comeback was formally announced, van der Linde also reflected on what stepping away from the DTM had given him.
“Yeah. I enjoy the TV stuff, to be honest, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss DTM. I still really, really miss it this year, especially seeing the final in Hockenheim. And it was, for me, tough to watch because I really wanted to be part of it.”
The absence strengthened rather than weakened his resolve.
“So, I’m still working on my comeback and I’m pretty sure that last year [2024] was not my final attempt at winning the title or at least fighting for it.”
He described the break as mentally beneficial and professionally refreshing.
“But this has been good mentally for me, a new motivation to drive a new car. I drove the Audi for so many years and it became a bit too routine, you know? You get to a point in life where you want to try different things and challenge yourself.”
Switching machinery and broadening his racing portfolio helped him rediscover a sense of growth.
“At times, the Formula E was very nice for me to get a bit of experience elsewhere. And now, obviously, driving a new car again has given me motivation to learn more about myself and make myself a more all-around driver, having driven different types of cars in GT now.”
Endurance racing offered a different kind of challenge compared to the intensity of the DTM.
“And also doing more endurance, it’s less of a pressure environment. DTM is a very high-pressure cooker, let’s say. You obviously have a lot more eyeballs on you and there’s a lot more responsibility when you’re driving alone in the car.”
He explained how sharing a car changes the mental dynamic.
“But when you are in endurance racing, it’s obviously you can lean a bit on your teammates at times. There’s some days when Charles [Weerts] has a better day than me and then I can have him kind of carry the team a little bit. And there’s some days where maybe I’m a bit better and then I carry us a bit more.”
However, the workload has still been intense.
“So just a nice… It’s not relaxing, but it’s a bit less mentally demanding over a season of 25 races. That said, it’s been a very busy season for me and I have to say the batteries are quite dead at this point. Done, yeah, at this point already 24 races. So it’s getting to the point now where the last few races have been tough.”
A renewed title charge
Now, with Schubert Motorsport and BMW M Motorsport, van der Linde embarks on another attempt at the DTM crown that has twice slipped through his grasp.
He returns not as a rookie chasing recognition, but as an established race winner determined to complete unfinished business. After years of near misses, triumphs and career reinvention, the 2026 DTM season offers him a clear objective.
The title remains the target.
