The relief was written all over Kelvin van der Linde's face after his victory in the second DTM race at Zandvoort: The Schubert BMW driver had controlled the race with poise for long stretches before a mistake with about 20 minutes remaining momentarily cost him the lead.
"I was a bit annoyed with myself, but I couldn't think about it too much," the South African admitted during the post-race press conference. "I just had to carry on pushing. I had five cars behind me immediately and just knew I had to do a clean in-lap and a clean out-lap to try and fight back."
But what actually happened? "I don't know if it was shown on TV, but it was very slippery out there today," van der Linde reported. "There were a lot of marbles offline from the different support categories and if you just go a little bit wide, it's very easy to lose the car."
That is exactly what happened to the BMW driver in the Kumhobocht, the penultimate corner of the circuit in the dunes. Van der Linde drifted slightly off the racing line, opening the door for Thierry Vermeulen (Emil Frey Ferrari) to take the lead.
Kelvin van der Linde benefits from fresh tires
"Obviously, it was not nice because I I knew the Ferrari was very quick," added van der Linde, who benefited from his retirement on Saturday. "My only joker was that I had fresh tyres at the pit stop waiting for me. So I knew I have maybe one more chance to attack him. But he was very fast in the middle stint of the race."
Indeed, the Ferrari driver managed to pull away by more than two seconds at one point, making the first BMW victory of the season seem like a distant prospect. "I just knew I had to do a clean in-lap and a clean outlap to try and fight back," van der Linde explained.
The Dutchman also appeared to make a driving error, drifting off the ideal line much like van der Linde had earlier. "I don't know if they showed it on TV, but I think that ultimately also cost him some positions at the pit stop."
"It was just very difficult to stay on track. Also the safety car was dropping a lot of rubber which made it difficult for us because we had a lot of pickup on the restart. So it was difficult conditions and you couldn't relax. You always had to be very focused."
Speaking of focus: The Emil Frey crew also made a mistake during Vermeulen's pit stop, momentarily dropping the Ferrari before the front-left wheel was fully secured. This cost valuable time, yet the Dutchman still managed to return to the track just ahead of the eventual race winner.
Zandvoort winner uses 2024 experience
By that point, however, the BMW driver had already brought his tires into the ideal operating window - and he struck back shortly after. With a daring move around the outside of Turn 7, van der Linde swept past the Ferrari. "It was actually a bit of deja vu for me," the South African said.
"I don't know if you remember 2024: I was behind Thierry and Rene and I overtook them 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", the BMW factory driver recalled of the race two years ago.
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"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." Subsequently, Kelvin van der Linde extended his lead to more than six seconds in the closing stages.
"I had a tyre advantage at the end, but it looked like there was a lot of chaos going on behind," the Schubert BMW driver said with a grin. "So I just used the momentum on my side to focus and do clean laps and I saw the gap increasing. So it didn't take any risk, but for sure it helps when the cars behind are fighting."
Van der Linde secures first DTM win for BMW
This marks Kelvin van der Linde's first DTM victory in BMW colors. "The first BMW victory is very special for me. I've been waiting for that one," said the South African, who had already come close to his debut win with BMW at the season opener.
"We've been very strong in qualifying in Spielberg and also here, but we couldn't convert it in Spielberg. That's why we put a lot of work into the small details to try and maximize our out-lap performances and and our pit stops. 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. And we are hungry for more," said van der Linde, who moves up to seventh place in the overall standings."
