Tijmen van der Helm Bio
Tijmen van der Helm, born on 26 January 2004, is a Dutch racing driver who competes internationally in endurance and prototype racing. He currently drives the No. 44 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, stepping into the premier GTP class after progressing through karting, junior single-seaters, and LMP2 machinery. Earlier in his career he represented ARC Bratislava in the FIA World Endurance Championship, gaining experience across multiple continents and racing formats.
Raised in the Netherlands, van der Helm began karting as a young child and worked his way through Formula 4, Formula Renault, and FIA Formula 3 before shifting focus to sports car racing. His move into endurance competition has positioned him among a small group of young prototype drivers trusted with factory Porsche machinery at the top level of North American sports car racing.
Early Life and Background
Tijmen van der Helm was born on 26 January 2004 in Delft, a historic city in the South Holland province of the Netherlands. He grew up in nearby Den Hoorn, a small community where many Dutch racing talents have developed their earliest skills. Motorsport was part of his upbringing, and his interest in racing was strongly shaped by family influences at home.
His father, Gerard van der Helm, competed in the Dutch Volkswagen Endurance Cup, exposing his son to car culture and race weekends from a young age. Watching his father’s endurance racing efforts helped spark Tijmen’s own ambition to become a professional driver. The family connection to motorsport gave him both inspiration and a practical understanding of what racing at higher levels demands.
Path to NASCAR
This driver is not associated with NASCAR competition. Tijmen van der Helm’s professional career has developed entirely outside the NASCAR ladder system, focusing instead on international single-seaters and sports car endurance racing. His progression from karting through Formula 4, the Formula Renault Eurocup, FIA Formula 3, and on to prototype machinery reflects a European and global pathway rather than stock car racing.
Tijmen van der Helm Career
Early Career (2019-2020)
Tijmen van der Helm made his single-seater debut in 2019 in the Formula 4 UAE Championship with Xcel Motorsport, finishing tenth overall with a race win and three podium finishes. He then raced in the 2019 Spanish F4 Championship with MP Motorsport, where eight podiums helped him secure fourth in the final standings and confirmed his potential as a front-running junior driver.
In 2020 he expanded his program into multiple championships. He joined FA Racing for the Formula Renault Eurocup, ending the season twelfth in points with a single podium and 45 points, while also beating experienced teammate Amaury Cordeel by two positions in the championship. He additionally raced in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series with Kiwi Motorsport, taking a race victory on his way to fourteenth in the drivers’ standings.
FIA Formula 3 (2021)
On 12 February 2021, Tijmen van der Helm was announced as a driver for MP Motorsport in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. He was paired alongside Alpine junior drivers Caio Collet and Victor Martins, two highly regarded talents from the Formula Renault ranks. The season served as a steep learning curve against a competitive field stacked with future Formula 1 prospects.
Across most of the campaign, van der Helm struggled to match the pace of his teammates and scored no championship points. He rarely managed to beat Collet or Martins in race conditions, and the year is generally viewed as a difficult developmental season. Despite the results, the experience sharpened his race craft and prompted his eventual transition away from single-seaters toward endurance racing.
Sportscar Breakthrough (2022-2023)
Van der Helm made his endurance racing debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona at the start of 2022, opening a new chapter in his career. Later that year, ARC Bratislava signed him for the FIA World Endurance Championship, where he was partnered with Mathias Beche and Miro Konôpka. He competed for the team in three of the first four rounds before ARC Bratislava withdrew from the series, citing logistical reasons, and he also finished fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the TDS Racing lineup.
During the same period, van der Helm raced in the European Le Mans Series with TDS Racing x Vaillante alongside Beche and bronze-rated driver Philippe Cimadomo. Competing in the Pro-Am category, the team finished fourth in class, with van der Helm ending twenty-second overall after a pair of tenth-place results. In 2023, he stepped down to the LMP3 class to finish fifth at the 24 Hours of Daytona for JDC-Miller Motorsports, then returned to LMP2 with Panis Racing in the European Le Mans Series, where he, Job van Uitert, and Manuel Maldonado finished third in the Pro class standings.
JDC-Miller MotorSports Era (2023-Present)
Later in 2023, JDC-Miller MotorSports confirmed van der Helm for its GTP program alongside experienced endurance ace Mike Rockenfeller. The team entered the IMSA SportsCar Championship from round four onward, and a best finish of fourth helped the pairing end the year ninth in the GTP standings. The campaign established van der Helm as a legitimate prototype driver capable of running at the front of North America’s top sports car category.
For the 2024 season, van der Helm remained at JDC-Miller MotorSports for a full IMSA campaign, this time partnered with Richard Westbrook for the full schedule and joined by Phil Hanson for the endurance rounds. Driving the No. 44 Porsche 963, he continued to build consistency at the GTP level. His progression from LMP3 to LMP2 and now GTP within a single team reflects a long-term development plan that has steadily elevated his role and visibility.
Driving Style and Strengths
Van der Helm has shown particular comfort in long-distance endurance formats, where consistency, tire management, and clean stints are rewarded more than outright single-lap pace. His background in junior single-seaters has given him sharp car control and a willingness to battle in close traffic, while his time in LMP2 and LMP3 machinery has refined his fuel-saving and stint-management skills. Working alongside seasoned co-drivers such as Mike Rockenfeller and Richard Westbrook has helped him mature into a reliable GTP-level pilot.
Notable Races and Milestones
His debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2022 marked his first major endurance event, and his fourth-place run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans later that year stands as one of his most prestigious results. The 2017 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals victory in the junior karting category was an early international headline, and his rise to GTP competition with JDC-Miller MotorSports represents the biggest step of his career so far.
Tijmen van der Helm Career Wins
Across karting, junior single-seaters, and prototype racing, Tijmen van der Helm has accumulated a varied set of victories that trace his development as a driver. His win in the 2017 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in the junior category announced him as a serious international talent, while later successes in Formula 4, the Toyota Racing Series, and the Formula Renault Eurocup underlined his ability to adapt to new machinery quickly.
Prototype and Endurance Highlights
Within prototype racing, van der Helm’s most notable result to date is his fourth-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 as part of the TDS Racing lineup in the LMP2 class. He has also finished inside the top ten at the 24 Hours of Daytona on multiple occasions, including a fifth-place LMP3 result in 2023 and consistent GTP finishes in IMSA. His third-place finish in the Pro class of the 2023 European Le Mans Series with Panis Racing further demonstrated his competitiveness at the LMP2 level.
Other Wins and Performances
In karting, his standout results included third place in the 2013 Chrono Karting Winter Series in the Micromax category and second in the 2017 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. In single-seaters, he secured a race win in the 2019 Formula 4 UAE Championship, a podium in the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup, and a race victory in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series with Kiwi Motorsport.
Tijmen van der Helm Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Tijmen van der Helm comes from a family with direct connections to motorsport, most notably through his father, Gerard van der Helm, who competed in the Dutch Volkswagen Endurance Cup. That background gave Tijmen early access to race weekends, technical environments, and the discipline required to pursue a professional career. Growing up in Den Hoorn, South Holland, he was surrounded by a region that has produced numerous Dutch racing talents across multiple disciplines.
Personal Life
Tijmen van der Helm maintains a relatively private personal life focused on his racing career. As a young professional athlete still in the early stages of his journey in international prototype racing, much of his public profile centers on competition results and team commitments rather than off-track details.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship season represents Tijmen van der Helm’s second full year in the GTP class with JDC-Miller MotorSports, continuing in the No. 44 Porsche 963. His established partnership with Richard Westbrook provides continuity in the endurance rounds, while the addition of endurance co-drivers offers flexibility across the longer events. The team is focused on consistently fighting for top GTP results after a developmental first full season together.
Van der Helm’s primary goal for 2025 is to convert raw pace into regular top-five and podium finishes across both sprint and endurance rounds. Building on the lessons learned during 2024, he has emphasized cleaner qualifying efforts and more consistent stint management as key priorities. With the Porsche 963 program maturing at JDC-Miller, expectations are that he will be a regular contender inside the GTP top ten.
Looking ahead, his progress in IMSA also keeps the door open for potential appearances in other major endurance events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continued growth in the GTP ranks would further establish him as one of the most promising young Dutch prototype drivers of his generation.