Sheldon van der Linde Set for Kyalami 9H in Schnitzer BMW

Photo: BMW

Sheldon van der Linde has been confirmed for November’s Kyalami 9 Hour, with the BMW DTM driver set to be part of Team Schnitzer’s lineup for the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season finale.

The 20-year-old South African will join full-season drivers Martin Tomczyk and Augusto Farfus in the No. 42 BMW M6 GT3, marking his international debut on home soil.

“It goes without saying that it is something incredibly special for me – probably even the highlight of my season,” said van der Linde.

“Some of my family, like my grandparents, have never seen me compete in an international race live. Now they will finally be able to at Kyalami.

“I’m expecting the atmosphere to be awesome since it has been quite a while since a major international race has been held in South Africa so it will be something new for the fans and they will be excited.

“And there will be other South African drivers starting alongside me, among them my brother Kelvin. I’m really looking forward to the whole event.”

While having joined the BMW’s DTM lineup this year, van der Linde has gained previous experience with the German manufacturer’s GT3-spec car in VLN competition.

He becomes the fourth different co-driver in the Schnitzer entry this season after Virgin Australia Supercars ace Chaz Mostert took part in the opening two rounds at Bathurst and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, followed by John Edwards at the Total 24 Hours of Spa and Nick Yelloly most recently at the Suzuka 10 Hours.

BMW’s second IGTC-supported entry will again be driven by Nicky Catsburg, Mikkel Jensen and Christian Krognes.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John