| Sheldon van der Linde | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Sheldon van der Linde.png | ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality |  South African
| |
| Date of Birth | 13 May 1999 | |
| Experience | DTM; FIA WEC | |
| Formula E Career | ||
| Teams |  BMW i Andretti Motorsport
| |
Sheldon van der Linde (born 13 May 1999 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an South African racing driver and factory BMW driver, who worked as the test/reserve driver for the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team during the 2020/21 season.[1] A veteran of sportscars and the DTM, van der Linde would complete several private tests for BMW-Andretti before the German marque withdrew from the series, twinning his reserve duties with a campaign in DTM.[1]
van der Linde's older brother Kelvin van der Linde had previously tested an FE car, having appeared at the 2020 Rookie Test as a test driver for Audi.[2]
Background[]
van der Linde began his career in karting at the age of eight, and would progress through the ranks in pursuit of his elder brother Kelvin.[3] However, rather than enter single-seaters, van der Linde would move into the South Africa Polo Cup in 2014 for his first senior racing series, and duly claimed the Championship with four victories.[3] For 2015 van der Linde would sign up and win the Volkswagen Cup South Africa, before moving to the European theatre for the 2016 season.[3]
TTs and GTs: 2016 - 2018[]
The Audi Sport TT Cup would be van der Linde's home for the 2016 campaign, with the South African racer winning on his debut before fading to fourth in the Championship, held in support of the DTM.[3] For 2017 van der Linde would move into a variety of series, including Benelux TCR, ADAC GT Masters and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, claiming a debut win in the latter at Petit Le Mans.[3] 2018 saw van der Linde become a pseudo-factory driver for BMW, as their customers in the ADAC GT Masters and WeatherTech Championship Land-Motorsport hired him for campaigns in both.[3]
van der Linde duly finished as runner-up in the ADAC GT Masters in 2018, while was ultimately an also-ran in the WeatherTech Championship having only completed half of the season.[3] The South African racer would also make a handful of appearances in the Blancpain GT Series for Team WRT, claiming tenth in the Endurance Cup.[3]
DTM Dreams: 2019 - Present[]
From the start of the 2019 season van der Linde would move into the DTM Championship, with BMW placing him in their roster of drivers for the season.[3] The DTM subsequently became van der Linde's main source of entertainment over the next four seasons, with the South African pilot also becoming an instrumental figure in BMW's new GT3 creation, based on their renowned M4 road car.[3]
Formula E History[]
van der Linde was offered the role of test/reserve driver by the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team shortly before the start of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, and would duly help the final development of the BMW iFE.21 before it was homologated for the 2020/21 season.[1] Outside of testing, however, van der Linde's services as a reserve driver were not used, and with BMW withdrawing from FE at the end of 2020/21 season, the South African pilot was not considered for an FE seat, despite Andretti continuing to use the iFE.21 for the 2021/22 season.[4]
Full Formula E Record[]
Shown below are a series of tables outlining Sheldon van der Linde's career in Formula E in statistical form:
| Sheldon van der Linde's Formula E Test Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Role |
| 2020/21 | BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
0 | BMW iFE.21 | Test/Reserve Driver |
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'Packed schedule: BMW works driver Sheldon van der Linde scheduled to compete in GT racing and Formula E in 2021.', press.bmwgroup.com, (BMW Group, 18/12/2020), https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0322937EN/packed-schedule:-bmw-works-driver-sheldon-van-der-linde-scheduled-to-compete-in-gt-racing-and-formula-e-in-2021, (Accessed 09/08/2022)
- ↑ 'Looking forward to having Audi Sport drivers @KelvinvdLinde and @MattiaDrudi joining us in Marrakesh', twitter.com, (Twitter: Audi Sport, 20/02/2020), https://twitter.com/audisport/status/1230438760757764096, (Accessed 20/02/2020)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 'Sheldon van der Linde', driverdb.com, (Driver DataBase, 2020), https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/sheldon-van-der-linde/, (Accessed 27/05/2020)
- ↑ Haydn Cobb, 'BMW follows Audi in announcing Formula E exit after 2020-21 season', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 02/12/2020), https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/153908/bmw-to-follow-audi-in-exiting-formula-e-in-2021, (Accessed 17/01/2021)
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