ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands — Kelvin van der Linde (ZA/Schubert Motorsport) secured his first DTM victory for BMW in Zandvoort after a spectacular race.
The South African showed great fighting spirit and rewarded himself for a courageous performance on Sunday with the ninth DTM win of his career.
“This victory feels incredibly good, I can’t even put it into words. The race was an emotional rollercoaster, but that’s exactly why I love the DTM. After the season opener in Spielberg, we improved some details and invested a lot of work in pit stops. It paid off,” the 29-year-old rejoiced.
Ben Dörr (Butzbach/Dörr Motorsport) also had reason to celebrate: The McLaren driver finished second, securing the first podium finish for himself and his team. Van der Linde’s teammate, Marco Wittmann (Fürth), staged a fantastic comeback and secured third place with a clever strategy. The second DTM overseas stop in Zandvoort, Netherlands, was witnessed by 39,500 spectators.
Polesitter van der Linde dominated the first half of the race and led after the first pit stop. At that point, Ferrari driver Thierry Vermeulen (NL/Emil Frey Racing) and Luca Engstler (Kempten/Red Bull Team Abt) in the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 followed in second and third place. Dörr and Wittmann fought their way up to seventh and ninth after a brief safety car period.
The big moment came on lap 20: Vermeulen overtook van der Linde, whose Pirelli slicks had degraded more noticeably. Consequently, the BMW driver was the first to make his second pit stop – and this tactic paid off. With his tires already warmed up, he overtook Vermeulen a few laps later, who, with still-cold tires, had no chance.
Dörr and Wittmann, however, pursued a different tactic. They were the last drivers to make their second pit stop on lap 26 and, after some spectacular overtaking maneuvers in the final laps, moved up to second and third place respectively.
After 35 laps, van der Linde won ahead of Dörr and Wittmann. Behind the top three, Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) crossed the finish line in fourth place. The tactically astute veteran also opted for late pit stops, gained eight positions, and thus reclaimed the lead in the DTM standings. Vermeulen finished the second race in fifth place in front of his fans.
Engstler and Marco Mapelli (I/Red Bull Team Abt) followed in sixth and seventh positions, driving two Lamborghini Temerario GT3s. The best Porsche driver was Thomas Preining (A) from Team Manthey in eighth place. Mirko Bortolotti (I/TGI Team by GRT) piloted the third Lamborghini to ninth, while Ricardo Feller (CH) secured 10th place in Manthey’s second 911.
