Van der Linde Joins Lexus LMGT3 Program

Kelvin van der Linde will form part of Akkodis ASP Team’s LMGT3 effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship next season.

As previously reported by Sportscar365, the South African driver emerged as a candidate to become part of Lexus’ first foray into WEC when he was spotted testing the RC F GT3 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

He joins the previously confirmed Jose Maria Lopez in spearheading the Japanese luxury brand’s LMGT3 program, with further drivers to be confirmed at a later date.

Van der Linde spent the first phase of his sports car career with Audi as part of an eight-year tenure as a factory driver that included a pair of victories in the Nürburgring 24 before leaving earlier this year.

Other successes with the Ingolstadt marque include a pair of ADAC GT Masters titles in 2014 and 2019 and winning the 2019 Suzuka 10 Hours with Team WRT.

His sole experience of ACO-style racing comes from a two-race outing with Phoenix Racing in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2021, when he teamed up with Matthias Kaiser and Simon Trummer at the wheel of an Oreca 07 Gibson.

The 27-year-old is set to remain active in Audi machinery through his ongoing relationship with ABT Sportsline, dovetailing his WEC commitments with a fourth season in DTM at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.