First BMW test after heavy crash: How Kelvin van der Linde fared

On Wednesday, eleven days after the heavy crash at the Norisring, Kelvin van der Linde returned to his BMW M4 GT3 Evo. His Schubert team utilized the only permitted private test day of the season with both BMW machines to prepare for their home game at the DTM weekend in Oschersleben. But how did the 30-year-old, who suffered bruising in the accident, fare during his comeback?

"I am incredibly happy to be back in the racing car," Kelvin van der Linde told ran.de. "The car was rebuilt within a week, so a huge thank you to the entire team. It is truly amazing what they have achieved over the last few days."

"I am fit as well, the pace is there, and I am looking forward to the race next week," he clarified after his return to the car, making it clear that nothing stands in the way of his participation in the upcoming DTM weekend in one week's time.

How many laps Kelvin van der Linde completed

During the test in Oschersleben, which took place in sunny conditions with temperatures just below 30 degrees Celsius, van der Linde was able to complete an extensive program. Alongside him were teammate Marco Wittmann and the two Dorr-McLaren drivers Ben Dorr and Timo Glock, who also used their only joker test day outside of the official tests.

"We completed around 70 laps," says van der Linde. "I felt good in the car. The car was also perfectly prepared - no issues with the car, right on the pace immediately." While this is a good sign physically, it says little about how competitive the team will be during the actual race weekend.

Oschersleben has never been a "BMW track" - and Kelvin van der Linde, who suffered technical bad luck repeatedly during the first half of the season and sits in twelfth place at the midpoint of the standings, urgently needs to make up ground.

"I am very excited for next week - the home race for Schubert. We hope for our spectators, fans, team members, and partners that we can be at the front," he says, looking ahead. "After the test, we have a very good feeling with the car. Everything else remains to be seen once the other cars are on the track as well."

"I'm very excited about next week - home race for Schubert. We hope for our spectators, fans, team members and partners that we can also be up front. After the test we have a very good feeling with the car. We'll just have to wait and see about everything else when the other cars are also on the race track."

Hard test for Kelvin van der Linde in Misano

This coming weekend, van der Linde, who is already in Italy, will complete his first full race weekend since the crash. He will compete for his WRT team in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup in Misano, sharing the BMW M4 GT3 Evo with his Belgian teammate Charles Weerts.

Kelvin van der Linde had already received medical clearance from the doctors for the Sunday race at the Norisring - and had a final check-up at the hospital for safety reasons.

According to team principal Torsten Schubert, however, "the swelling kept increasing," which is why the original plan was scrapped and the driver sat out the race. Last week, van der Linde prepared for his comeback at the Athlete Performance Center in Thalgau, Austria, under the supervision of Red Bull specialists.

Will the second Grasser-Lamborghini be missing?

While van der Linde is already back in a racing car, Maximilian Paul is facing a longer recovery period after the crash. The 26-year-old from Dresden suffered a fractured tibia and fibula as well as a lumbar vertebra fracture in the accident and had to undergo surgery. He was able to leave the hospital in Nuremberg at the end of last week.

Whether the second Lamborghini Temerario GT3 from the Grasser team can be fielded with a replacement driver in Oschersleben was recently left open by team principal Gottfried Grasser. The car is repairable, but the availability of parts is "an issue," he stated last week.

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