Sheldon van der Linde claimed the 2022 DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) Champion title when he finished third in the finale at Hockenheim on Sunday.
This makes the 23-year-old BMW driver the first South African to win the DTM Championship trophy.
DTM Champion crowned
Van der Linde only had a two-point lead over Lucas Auer when he made it to the final stretch of the race, but that was all he needed.
Van der Linde almost lost the edge on Auer in the 6th lap, when they pitted at the same time and returned to the same position.
As Nico Muller overtook Auer (subsequently pushing Auer to 7th), Van der Linde used it to his advantage to close the gap between him and Clemens Schmid.
WATCH: DTM Champion title claimed
Van der Linde almost lost the coveted third place to Zug’s Attempto Audi, but was able to make it to the final and secure his maiden title in the DTM.
He finished with a 14.793 gap behind Rene Rast, who was 4.425 seconds behind the winner of the last race of the season, Marco Wittmann.
Motorsport SA congratulated Van Der Linde on “his fantastic achievement”.
“Well done Sheldon, you have made South African motorsport extremely proud”.
