South Africa’s very own Kelvin van der Linde grabbed victory for Audi Sport Team Land as the Nürburgring 24 Hours came to a dramatic end on Sunday.
It was the fourth victory in five calendar years for the Audi R8 LMS.
The weather conditions – along with a technical setback for the team in the final hour of race – ensured a dramatic finish to the endurance event. The team led for 125 race laps before a sensor problem occurred on the car. But attempts to “completely solve” the problem during two pit stops were unsuccessful.
Despite this, the #29 Audi R8 LMS moved back up to second place. Shortly before the end of the race, Audi Sport Team Land was the first front-runner to change to rain tyres … and it paid off.
Van der Linde regained the lead on the wet track on the final lap and, together with his teammates Christopher Mies, Connor De Phillippi and Markus Winkelhock, the South African won the 45th edition of the endurance race.
A BMW M6 GT3 placed second, with a second Audi R8 LMS (from Team WRT) in third.
Well done to Audi Sport Team Land with @CDePhillippi, @m_winkelhock, @MiesChris & @KelvinvdLinde! #GT3 #24hNurburgring #LeagueofPerformance pic.twitter.com/0XyZTg16xf
— Audi Sport (@audisport) May 28, 2017
