Kelvin van der Linde | Formula E

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Kelvin van der Linde will deputise for ABT CUPRA after Robin Frijns injured his wrist in the opening round of Season 9 in Mexico City.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, van der Linde started his motorsports career at the tender age of eight in 2005. He quickly rose to prominence in his home country, becoming the youngest driver to compete on a national level in 2011 and then going one better by taking the honours of the youngest national champion just two short years later.

He would achieve even more accolades on the international stage in 2013 showcasing his talent by becoming the youngest ever winner of the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup, and earning a place is Volkswagen's junior ranks for 2014.

KVDL racked up back-to-back European titles in 2014 when partnered with Rene Rast at the time, he became the youngest ever ADAC GT Masters Champion at just 18 - his success at such a young age has been rewarded with a role in Audi's factory stable since 2015.

Since then, the South African has filled his trophy cabinet across GT racing, including another title in the ADAC GT Masters, a pair of wins in the gruelling 24 Hours of Nurburgring, a victory in the Suzuka 10 Hours, amongst more.

Selected by ABT for DTM's shift to sportscars in 2021, KVDL immediately put his GT3 skills to work becoming an immediate title contender, picking up four races wins and five pole positions to end a hard fought debut third in the standings.

Broadening his horizons from sportscars, KVDL dipped his toes in the world of all-electric racing and Formula E at the 2020 rookie test in Marrakesh. A testament to his abilities, he posted the fastest time in the morning before ending the day in ninth - 0.8s off the best time of Nick Cassidy and in a top 10 that also featured current drivers Sergio Sette Camara, Jake Hughes, Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz.

Now three years down the line, van der Linde will step into the cockpit for ABT CUPRA in place of the injured Robin Frijns, making history as the first South African to line up on the grid and potentially in time for a home race in Cape Town.