Seven different winners in eight races: The DTM has had an exciting and varied first half of the season. The second half of the season kicks off at the Nürburgring (August 16 to 18), and one driver in particular is looking forward to the trip to the Eifel: Kelvin van der Linde. "I'm finally back in the race car. I have almost always performed well at the Nürburgring in the past and have already celebrated many successes. I'm looking forward to the weekend," says the South African. So far this year, van der Linde has impressed with one win and a total of three podium finishes. Will the Audi driver from Abt Sportsline storm to the top of the standings at the Nürburgring? Van der Linde goes into the second half of the season as the closest pursuer of championship leader Mirko Bortolotti (Italy). The Lamborghini works driver from SSR Performance recently took over the overall lead from van der Linde at the Norisring and leads by a narrow margin of six points.

The sprint version of the Nürburgring is one of the shortest tracks on the DTM calendar. Nevertheless, the 3.629-kilometer asphalt track offers a varied course with winding sections and long corners. "The passion of the fans is very special at the Nürburgring. I won the DTM race there three years ago, plus two victories in the 24-hour race and a joint DTM podium with my brother Sheldon," says van der Linde. The latter experience was a first for him in 2022. Back then, the duo celebrated the first and to date only one-two victory for a brother and sister in the DTM - BMW driver Sheldon won ahead of Kelvin.

"Our strength this season lies in the fact that we are consistently scoring points and have not had a single retirement so far," is van der Linde's interim assessment. He has finished in the top six in five of the eight championship races and has always placed his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 in the points. "We only managed one pole position in qualifying, but we put in a strong performance in the races," says van der Linde. The 28-year-old enjoyed his most successful weekend in the first half of the DTM season at the Dekra Lausitzring, where he celebrated his only win of the season so far and scored 48 of his 98 points. At the Nürburgring, the man from Kempten by choice, who has also held German citizenship since the beginning of July, wants to follow up with the next gala performance.

Despite all his ambitions for the overall lead, van der Linde must also take a look in the rear-view mirror, because the chasing trio behind Bortolotti are very close together. Only five points separate van der Linde and BMW driver René Rast (Bregenz/Schubert Motorsport) in third place. His lead over Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Winward) is ten points. Thanks to this exciting starting position in the DTM title fight, it is clear that fans can expect exciting race weekends after the summer break. After the fifth tour stop at the Nürburgring, the DTM stars will head to the Sachsenring (September 6 to 8). The second foreign event of the year at the Red Bull Ring (September 27 to 29) in Austria kicks off the hot final phase of the season, before the showdown traditionally takes place at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (October 18 to 20).

Tickets for the DTM are available here.