Jordan Pepper is Lucas Auer’s biggest rival ahead of the DTM finale – with advice from his former roommate Kelvin van der Linde and a curious glass bottle mishap
Just over a week ago, Jordan Pepper and his compatriot Kelvin van der Linde were still battling it out in Valencia for the title in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series – with the WRT BMW driver coming out on top. But ahead of the decisive DTM weekend, Pepper is seeking advice in the title battle from his former roommate, who was in the same situation a year ago.
“It’s great to have Kelvin around,” says rookie Pepper, who is DTM leader Lucas Auer’s closest rival in the championship ahead of the final weekend, trailing by seven points. “He’s been in this situation several times before and always openly shares his experiences with me. It’s a good feeling to have someone who’s been through it before and can really explain it.”
Even if he “only gains one percent from it,” the conversations have “already been worthwhile,” says the Grasser Lamborghini driver. But what tips is the long-time Abt Audi driver, who is not competing in the DTM this year after switching to BMW, giving him ahead of the two races at Hockenheim?
“Try to block out the noise around you”
“One thing will stay in my memory,” says Pepper. “He said: Just concentrate on what you can control. Try to block out the noise around you.” The 29-year-old expects more media appointments and fan interest during the final weekend – and, above all, “a lot more pressure” due to the title fight. He says he “felt that it became even more intense in the second half of the year. But one of his most important pieces of advice is to always take time for myself, to make sure I put my activities on the race track first and focus on that.“
When it comes to racing, he doesn’t need any help from Kelvin van der Linde, ”but if I have any questions, I’m sure he would give me a few tips and tricks,” Pepper is convinced. “He’s quite a Hockenheim specialist, he’s very good there, but I like the track too—and maybe we’ve learned a few tricks from each other over the years at Hockenheim,” he grins.
DTM season without van der Linde brothers an advantage for Pepper
In general, he greatly appreciates the exchange with Kelvin and his brother Sheldon van der Linde, who won the DTM title against Auer in 2022, in the current situation. It is definitely an advantage that neither of them is currently competing in the DTM.
“They can really talk about their experiences and share their knowledge, they don’t have to think twice because they’re not competing,” explains Pepper. “I’m not fighting Kelvin and Sheldon in the championship this year. That’s cool. We’re very close, we’re very good friends.”
But what does Pepper’s preparation for the decisive weekend look like? “I like to prepare as thoroughly and as well as possible, do a lot of things at home, look at a lot of past events and my notes,” says Pepper, who sees no difference in this respect to other races.
Pepper suffers cuts after mishap
Now it’s important to “have a smooth weekend starting with the first practice session on Friday and try to have as few problems and disruptions as possible. That’s all we can do. We have no control over the other factors – or what the others do. If we reach our full potential and it’s still not enough, then I’ll be satisfied.”
Speaking of smooth: Pepper has already gotten over his minor shock before the title decision. During the test day in Hockenheim last Thursday, he injured himself on a glass bottle due to a moment of carelessness. “Glass bottle 1:0 me,” he posted on Instagram, along with a photo of his left hand with bandages on his index, middle, and ring fingers.
What happened? “I used a lighter to open a bottle, slipped, and cut my hand, but it’s okay,” says Pepper, who describes it as a minor injury and says he didn’t need any medical treatment. “It looked worse than it is,” he says. A week later, the cuts have already healed. Now we can look forward to seeing whether the shards bring good luck.
