This year’s Bathurst 12 Hour is a bit of a family affair. Four cars in this year’s event are being shared between family members, with three sets of brothers and a father/son duo all entered for this weekend’s encounter.
This is far from the record at the Mountain – in the production car era, with larger grids, family entrants were a common occurrence; in 2009, no fewer than eight of the 48 car grid featured family members sharing driving duties.
But it is a record in the GT3 era and sees the reunion of a pair in the Pro class that have raced more against each other than with each other.
With Kelvin van der Linde’s return to WRT, he and his brother Sheldon are sharing a car for the first time in over seven years. With two Van der Linde’s behind the wheel, the #32 WRT BMW is a big draw in the Pro category.
“We did, well [Sheldon]’s first season in GT3 together, in GT Masters,” Kelvin told DSC. “And we did the Spa 24 Hours, where we finished on the podium together, so we have a history of racing together.
“But, I didn’t think it would ever happen again – that seven years later, we’d be in the same manufacturer again. So for both of us, it doesn’t feel 100% real yet.”
Sheldon joined WRT following his older brother’s path, but after a season, found his way into a factory BMW drive. As the world of sportscars has evolved since the mid-2010s, WRT is now a BMW team, and Kelvin’s recent signing with the team has brought him into the fold.
“For me, it’s interesting to see how things have changed over the last six or seven years that we drove together,” Sheldon added. “Back then it was my first year with Audi and in a factory contract, so I had a lot to learn in that year, from [Kelvin] as well.
“Now I don’t learn anything from him!”
“Yeah, now I have to learn from you!” Kelvin laughed in response.
“I mean, I tried to help him,” Sheldon responded. “I know the car from the last three years, so that’s an advantage for him, to come into a new car and I can give him some tips and pointers.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way he’s gotten to pace already.”
In the Pro category, it’s all about the jobs – there’s no room for a sibling rivalry.
“Everyone has their own job, and we can’t do the same thing twice,” Sheldon said, quick to extinguish any suggestion that the van der Lindes could get carried away.
“It’s a race we both haven’t won, it’s a race BMW haven’t won in the GT3 era,” Kelvin added. “And when you can share a car with your brother, we have the same goals, and the same ambition to win the race.”
Meanwhile, in the #91 The Bend Manthey EMA Porsche, brothers Yasser and Sam Shahin (featured) are combining for the first time since 2020. While Yasser has been a near constant at The Mountain at the 12 Hour, for Sam, the 2025 event marks his return after a horrific crash during qualifying in 2020, where he suffered two broken vertebrae after being tipped into the wall at McPhillamy Park.
Sam is excited to be back, yet, understandably, he’s approaching the race with some trepidation.
“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any nervousness,” Sam said. “I live with the scars [of that 2020 crash]. That was a very punishing day, physically and mentally.”
While Yasser has been racing in GTWC Australia and the WEC, Sam has focussed on the domestic circuit, winning the Porsche Carrera Cup Am class in recent years. And on his return to the Bathurst 12 Hour, it’s ‘a privilege’ to share the car with his brother.
“Yasser is a terrific driver; he’s had the most incredible 12 months. I live in his shadow, and I aspire to progress my driving the way he has.
“I have to pinch myself that I’m in the company of two amazing young talented pro drivers [Laurin Heinrich and Morris Schuring], and what I think is undisputedly the best Pro-Am driver in the country, if not the world, at the moment.”
For Yasser, Sam was the first person to call when trying to solve the problem of needing a second Bronze-rated driver.
“This year, there was a compulsory requirement for two Bronze drivers in the Pro-Am entry,” Yasser explained. “And I can’t think of a better Bronze teammate than Sam.
“He’s had outstanding success in Carrera Cup, so the [GT3 Porsche 911] is going to be somewhat analogous. And I think he’s here on merit.
“And, we get the added benefit of some brotherly competition, to keep pushing each other a little bit further forward.”
Both Yasser and Sam are wary of the challenges posed by Mount Panorama.
“It was fantastic to have [won Pro-Am] after four or five attempts,” Yasser said. “The mountain chooses you some years, and it chose us last year.”
“A lot has to go right for a 30-minute Carrera Cup race, let alone a 12-hour race,” Sam added. “I hope I can do my bit and leave here on a Sunday night with a fist in the air and a smile on my face.”
In Bronze, the #4 Mercedes of Grove Racing features father/son duo Stephen and Brenton Grove. Stephen has been a stalwart of the Bathurst 12 hour, taking the Class B win (for Carrera Cup machinery) a record five times, some of those driving with Brenton. Since 2020, Grove Racing has expanded from the Carrera Cup to a Porsche GT3, and now to a full Supercars outfit and Mercedes GT3 program. And at the centre of it, is Stephen and Brenton.
And for Brenton, racing with his dad is how it’s always been.
“It’s quite commonplace now, we drive together all the time,” Brenton said. “I can’t remember the last race I did without him, to be honest!
“I think it helps going into the weekend knowing how the strengths and weaknesses, and how each other operates. It’s quite easy to be supportive of one another and structure the weekends in a way that is as productive as possible.”
For Brenton, it’s a big advantage having someone so close to support, and to be supported as well.
“We know each other really well; we know when someone’s thinking a certain way, or needs some help, so [either of us] can jump in, maybe before other people notice.”
Even though it’s Stephen and Brenton’s team, when they’re at the track, that’s not a part of the equation – it’s all about the driving.
“The team is entirely self-sufficient outside of us. We have good people, and they know what they’re doing,” Brenton said. “We don’t need to get involved in that at all.”
Finally, in the Silver class, the brothers Koundouras, James (below) and Theo, have returned with the #47 Supabarn Racing Mercedes AMG. It’s the 11th year the brothers have paired up, making them one of the most experienced combos in the race.
“We’ve been doing it a long time!” James said. “We’re pretty experienced at racing together. We know each other well!”
While the pair have 11 entries together, they only have 10 starts together; in 2022, Theo had a big crash at Reid Park on the Friday, suffering from a concussion as a result of the crash which wrote off the Audi chassis. Amazingly, the team at Melbourne Performance Centre freighted a new chassis to the track overnight, prepared it on Saturday morning, and come race day, James, David Russell, and Paul Stokell went on to take an incredible class victory.
“I actually helped set him up for that win,” Theo quipped. “Because the new car was better than the old car!”
“He actually helped with the driver changes that weekend and did a great job,” James added. “So while [Theo] wasn’t on track, he certainly contributed to the win.”
Driving with your brother can be stressful though, especially when something goes wrong.
“It was scary,” James said about Theo’s 2022 accident. “On the radio, he wasn’t responding. We were worried for a few minutes.”
“A lot of things were spinning that weekend,” Theo joked.
For the Koundouris brothers, this is an event that they plan to keep coming together for.
“The day we can’t do the driver change, it’s over!” Theo said.
“The driver change is the hardest part at the moment,” James agreed. “We’ll keep going until we feel like we can’t.”
From speaking to all the family pairings in the paddock, it’s clear that up and down the pit lane, motorsport is, often, still a family operation. And when that family operation extends into the driver’s seat, it makes the experience of fighting for some of the most prestigious trophies in the sport all the more special.
