Kelvin Van Der Linde will replace Nico Mueller for Rounds 9 and 10 of the Formula E season, on 11 and 12 May. The regular driver will be competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship the same weekend.
Van Der Linde is Reserve and Simulator driver for ABT CUPRA and he had his chance to shine on track at the beginning of Season 9, when he had to replace Robin Frijn for three races.
Thomas Biermaier, ABT CEO and Team Principal, has mixed feelings: “Nico is in extremely strong form at the moment, so of course it hurts a bit to be without him for two races”, he said. “However, we don’t want to put any obstacles in the way of his parallel commitment to the WEC and have therefore given him the official go-ahead.”
“With Kelvin we are in the fortunate position of having a driver who is familiar with Formula E, our team and the current generation of the racecar. Also, he has already completed three races for us. We are all looking forward to another weekend together”, he continued.
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The South African-born driver can’t wait for his comeback in Formula E, especially for the fans and the location. “I’ve already spent many hours in the simulator with the team and been to the Formula E events. Of course it’s something completely different to drive myself.” His goal is to be part of the encouraging upward trend of the team.
Not Just Formula E
Van der Linde races with ABT CUPRA in other categories too. In fact, he’s just been in the ABT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 at Nuerburgring and will be racing in the DTM right before the Berlin E-Prix. The switch from one category to another doesn’t scare him. “It’s exciting few weeks with commitments in a variety of cars and championships – but that’s exactly how I want it to be as a racer.”
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