SA’s Sheldon van der Linde clinches the DTM title

Sheldon van der Linde is the new DTM (German Touring Car Masters) champion, the first South African to win the prestigious title.

Driving a Schubert Motorsport BMW M4, the 23-year-old won the championship with third place in the finale at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg in Germany on Sunday.

Van der Linde held his nerve on the final race weekend of the season. On Saturday, he overcame a grid penalty to battle his way up from 16th to second place. He claimed fifth on the grid on Sunday and followed this up by finishing third to reach the podium.

He chalked up 164 points to top the drivers’ standings, 11 more than Austrian Lucas Auer (Mercedes) in second place.

Van der Linde celebrated three wins and six podiums in his championship season. It was his fourth season in the DTM and the first for his Schubert Motorsport team.

BMW had double reason to celebrate as two-time champion Marco Wittmann from Germany scored his 18th DTM career win with the Walkenhorst BMW. René Rast (Germany) finished second with the ABT Audi, but that wasn’t enough for the German to seal his fourth DTM title.

The freshly crowned champion was overwhelmed with congratulations at the finish from his parents and his brother, Kelvin, who finished fifth behind Marius Zug (Audi). On Sunday, Sheldon competed in his 68th DTM race since his series debut in 2019.

“In 2016, I came from SA to Germany as a young lad to become a professional racing driver. That was my dream when I still was a kid. Now standing here as the DTM champion is just simply unbelievable,” a visibly moved Van der Linde said after the race.

“Right now, it is impossible for me to describe my emotions. There are a million thoughts going through my head. I had a few sleepless nights this week. I have to admit that the pressure of going into this weekend as championship leader was huge.

“It feels fantastic now that this weight is off my shoulders. Ever since I was a child, I have dreamed of driving in the DTM. I am unbelievably proud and delighted now that I have won it. Growing up in SA, making the leap to the DTM seemed a very long way away.”