​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.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”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.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.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”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.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”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.”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.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKelvin 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