“Annoyed with myself”: BMW driver van der Linde speaks frankly after victory

– The relief was clearly visible on Kelvin van der Linde after his victory in the second DTM race in Zandvoort (race report): The Schubert-BMW driver had controlled the race confidently over long stretches before making a mistake about 20 minutes from the end, which temporarily cost him the lead.

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“I was a bit annoyed with myself, but I couldn’t think about it for too long,” the South African admits at the press conference after the race. “I just had to keep pushing because there were immediately five other cars behind me.”

But what actually happened? “I don’t know if it was visible on TV, but today it was extremely slippery out there,” van der Linde reports. “There were many rubber residues from the various support categories off the racing line.”

“If you go just a little bit too far out, you very easily lose the car.” That’s exactly what happened to the BMW driver in the Kumho corner, the penultimate corner of the dune circuit: Van der Linde slightly left the racing line and gave Thierry Vermeulen (Emil-Frey Ferrari) the opportunity to take the lead.

Kelvin van der Linde benefits from fresh tires

“Of course, that wasn’t nice because I knew the Ferrari was very fast,” adds van der Linde, who benefited from his retirement on Saturday: “My only joker was actually that I knew fresh tires would be waiting for me at the pit stop. So I knew I might still get a chance to attack him.”

“But he was very fast in the middle stint of the race.” In fact, the Ferrari driver pulled away by more than two seconds at times, so the first BMW win of the season seemed to be slipping away. “I knew I had to do a clean in-lap and a clean out-lap to fight back,” explains van der Linde.

Apparently, there was also a driving error by the Dutchman, who, like van der Linde himself, briefly left the racing line. “I don’t know if they showed that on TV, but I think that ultimately cost him some positions during the pit stop.”

“So it was just very difficult to stay on the track. The safety car also left a lot of rubber on the track at times, which was difficult for us because we had a lot of pickup at the restart. Honestly, the conditions were difficult, and you could never relax – you always had to stay fully focused.”

Speaking of concentration: The Emil-Frey team also made a mistake during Vermeulen’s pit stop when the Ferrari was briefly released even though the left front wheel was not yet mounted. That cost time, but the Dutchman still returned to the track ahead of the eventual race winner.

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Zandvoort winner uses experience from the 2024 season

At that point, the BMW driver had already brought his tires into the right working window – and struck back shortly after: With a bold move on the outside of turn 7, van der Linde passed the Ferrari. “That was actually a bit of a déjà vu for me,” says the South African.

“I don’t know if you remember 2024 – back then Thierry and Rene Rast were ahead of me, and I overtook them on the outside in the Audi,” recalls the BMW factory driver about the race two years ago. “That’s why I knew there was grip there. So I tried it in the BMW as well, and it worked pretty well.”

“I’m very happy about this maneuver. It was extremely important to get through the chaos and then open a gap. I would say that was the race-deciding overtaking move.” Afterwards, Kelvin van der Linde extended his lead in the final phase to more than six seconds.

“I was actually a bit lucky that the cars behind me were fighting,” says the Schubert-BMW driver with a grin. “Of course, I had a tire advantage at the end, but it looked like there was quite a lot of chaos behind me.”

“That’s why I just tried to use the momentum on my side, stay focused, and drive clean laps. I saw the gap getting bigger. I didn’t take any risks, but of course it helps when the cars behind you are fighting each other.”

Van der Linde takes first BMW win in DTM

Kelvin van der Linde celebrates his first DTM win in the service of BMW. “The first BMW win is something very special for me. I have waited a long time for it,” says the South African, who was already close to his BMW debut victory at the season opener.

“We were very strong in qualifying in Spielberg and also here, but couldn’t convert it in Spielberg. That’s why we put a lot of work into the small details to maximize our out-lap performance and also our pit stops.”

“I think that paid off today,” says van der Linde, who improved to seventh place in the overall standings. “I’m very proud of the whole team that we fought back today and really showed what we can do. And we want more.”

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