Kelvin van der Linde delivered when it mattered at Zandvoort, claiming his first DTM victory with BMW in Round 4 of the 2026 season.
After showing strong pace in qualifying at both Spielberg and Zandvoort, the Schubert Motorsport driver finally converted that speed into victory. However, it was far from a straightforward Sunday afternoon on the Dutch coast.
Track conditions proved tricky throughout the race, with marbles offline and rubber pick-up making life difficult for the field. Van der Linde briefly lost the lead to Thierry Vermeulen, but fought back through strategy, execution and a decisive on-track move.
Behind him, Ben Dörr secured his first DTM podium for Dörr Motorsport McLaren in second, while Marco Wittmann completed the podium in third, making it two Schubert Motorsport BMWs inside the top three.
Van der Linde explains slippery Zandvoort conditions at DTM Race 2 of the weekend
Speaking after the race, van der Linde explained that the conditions were more difficult than they may have looked from the outside. Zandvoort had become a tricky circuit to manage, with marbles building up offline after the support categories had run.
That left drivers with little margin for error. Even a small moment off the racing line could quickly turn into a costly mistake, something van der Linde felt was not necessarily obvious from the TV coverage.
“I don’t know if it was shown on TV, but it was very, very slippery out there today. There were a lot of marbles offline from the different support categories, and if you just went a little bit wide, it was very easy to lose the car. Actually, the same happened to Thierry [Vermeulen] on his in-lap. I don’t know if they showed it on TV, but ultimately, I think that cost him some positions at the pit stop. So yeah, it was just very difficult to stay on track.”
Safety Car rubber pick-up adds another challenge
The difficult conditions were not only caused by the marbles offline. Van der Linde also pointed to the Safety Car periods, which added another layer of difficulty once racing resumed.
With rubber being dropped onto the circuit, the drivers had to deal with pick-up on the restart. That made it harder to find grip immediately and meant there was no chance to relax, even when running at the front.
“Also, the safety car at times was dropping a lot of rubber, which made it difficult for us because we had a lot of pick-up on the restart. So, to be honest, the conditions were difficult, and you couldn’t relax. You always had to be very focused. But yeah, as you say, the first BMW win is very special for me. I’ve been waiting for that one. We were very strong in qualifying in Spielberg and also here, but we couldn’t convert in Spielberg. So, we put in a lot of work on the small details to try and maximise our out-lap performances and also the pit stops, and I think that paid off today. I’m very proud of the whole team that we were able to come back today and really show what we can do. We are hungry for more.”
Pit strategy helps van der Linde fight back
Although van der Linde looked strong early on, Vermeulen became a serious threat during the middle stint. The Ferrari had strong pace, and after losing out, Van der Linde admitted he had to quickly refocus.
While the moment was frustrating, the Schubert Motorsport driver still had a key advantage in hand. With his pit stop yet to come and fresh tyres waiting, he knew the race had not slipped away completely. Instead of dwelling on the lost position, he focused on staying close enough to strike back once the pit cycle unfolded.
“Obviously, it was not nice because I knew the Ferrari was very quick. My only joker was that I had fresh tyres and the pit stop waiting for me, so I knew I would maybe have one more chance to attack him. But he was very fast in the middle stint of the race, so I was a bit annoyed with myself. However, I couldn’t think about it too much, as I had to carry on pushing. I had five cars behind me immediately, and I just knew I had to do a clean in-lap and a clean out-lap to try and fight back.”
A race-deciding move around the outside
That response proved crucial. Van der Linde stopped earlier than Vermeulen and used the tyre advantage to close the gap once the Ferrari rejoined. With his BMW already up to temperature, he seized the chance when it arrived and made the move stick around the outside.
It was a bold pass, but not an unfamiliar one. Van der Linde had pulled off a similar move at Zandvoort in 2024, then in Audi colours. That previous experience gave him confidence that there would be grip on the outside line, even in tricky conditions.
“Yeah, it was actually a bit of déjà vu for me. I don’t know if you guys remember, but in 2024 it was Thierry and René, and I overtook on the outside in the Audi. So, I knew there was some grip out there. I tried it in the BMW as well, and it worked quite nicely. I’m glad about that move. It was quite important to get through the chaos and then make a gap at the end. I think that was the race-deciding move, I would say.”
Van der Linde controls the closing laps
Once he returned to the front, van der Linde kept the race under control. While the cars behind him battled, he focused on clean laps and started to build a gap.
“I was actually quite lucky that the cars behind were fighting. Obviously, I had a tyre advantage at the end, but it looked like there was a lot of chaos going on behind. So, I just used the momentum on my side to focus and do clean laps, and I saw the gap increasing. I didn’t take any risks, but for sure, it helps when the cars behind are fighting.”
As well as taking the victory, van der Linde was also voted Driver of the Day by the fans. After a difficult Saturday, he said the support had given him extra motivation heading into Sunday.
“Yeah, it’s awesome, really. Thanks to the fans for that. They gave me the motivation yesterday when we had a tough day, so I really appreciate the support from all the fans.”
With his first BMW win secured in DTM, van der Linde left Zandvoort with momentum firmly on his side. After missed opportunities earlier in the season, Schubert Motorsport finally turned pace into silverware and Van der Linde made clear that this result was only the beginning.
