Introduction
Tijmen van der Helm (born 26 January 2004) is a Dutch racing driver currently competing in the 2023 European Le Mans Series with Panis Racing.
Personal life
Van Der Helm was born on 26 January 2004 in Delft, and grew up in nearby Den Hoorn, South Holland. His career was influenced by his father Gerard, who raced in the Dutch Volkswagen Endurance Cup.
Early career
Karting
Having started karting in 2013, Van Der Helm's notable karting successes include third place in the 2013 Chrono Karting Winter Series - Micromax, second in the 2017 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and a victory in the 2017 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in the junior category.
Lower formulae
Van Der Helm made his single seater debut in the 2019 Formula 4 UAE Championship with Xcel Motorsport. He finished the series 10th in the standings with a win and 3 podiums to his name. Later that year he would race in the 2019 Spanish F4 Championship with MP Motorsport. The Dutchman took 8 podiums on his way to 4th in the points. In 2020 Tijmen raced in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series. Participating in the championship with Kiwi Motorsport. He finished 14th in the Drivers Championship with a race victory.
Formula Renault Eurocup
In 2020 Van Der Helm would race in the Formula Renault Eurocup with FA Racing. He ended the season 12th in the points tally, with one podium finish and 45 points. Van Der Helm also beat his experienced teammate Amaury Cordeel by two positions in the championship, and was the sixth-best rookie in the rookie standings.
FIA Formula 3
On February 12, Van Der Helm was announced as a MP Motorsport driver for the 2021 season, partnering Alpine juniors and Formula Renault rivals Caio Collet and Victor Martins. During most of the season the Dutchman was considerably behind his teammates in the races, scoring no points and only rarely managing to beat Collet and Martins in races.
Sportscar career
2022: Rookie season in LMP2
After the Dutchman had made his endurance racing debut in the 24 Hours of Daytona at the start of 2022, it was announced that ARC Bratislava team had signed Van der Helm for the FIA World Endurance Championship campaign, where he would partner Mathias Beche and Miro Konôpka. He competed for the team in three of the first four rounds, having finished fourth as part of the TDS Racing lineup at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, before ARC Bratislava withdrew from the series, citing logistical reasons.
During the same year, Van der Helm also took part in the European Le Mans Series, driving for TDS Racing x Vaillante alongside Beche and Philippe Cimadomo. Having competed in the Pro-Am category given Cimadomo's status as a bronze driver, the team ended up fourth in the class standings, whilst two best race finishes of tenth in the opening pair of races took Van der Helm to 22nd in the overall drivers' championship.
2023
Van der Helm started 2023 by stepping down to the LMP3 class, where he finished fifth in the 24 Hours of Daytona for JDC-Miller Motorsports, having experienced a number of technical issues. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that he would partner Job van Uitert and Manuel Maldonado in the European Le Mans Series, returning to the LMP2 class with Panis Racing.
Later in 2023, van der Helm was confirmed for JDC-Miller's GTP program, alongside Mike Rockenfeller.
Karting record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Dutch 4-Stroke Sprint Championship — Cadet 160 | 8th | |
| Dutch 4-Stroke Winter Championship — Cadet | 8th | ||
| 2013 | Winter Gold Cup — Cadet 160 | 4th | |
| Chrono Karting Winter Serie — Micromax | 3rd | ||
| 2015 | Euro Finale — Mini Max | 5th | |
| 2016 | BNL International Karting Series — Juniors | 7th | |
| 2017 | Rotax Max Wintercup — Rotax Max Junior | JJ Racing | 4th |
| CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy | van der Helm, Gerard | 2nd | |
| German Karting Championship — Junior | 12th | ||
| IAME International Final — X30 Junior | 6th | ||
| WSK Final Cup — OKJ | CRG Keijzer Racing | 30th | |
| Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Junior | Gerald van der Helm | 1st | |
| 2018 | WSK Champions Cup — OK | KSM Schumacher Racing Team | 27th |
| South Garda Winter Cup — OK | 31st | ||
| WSK Super Master Series — OK | 17th | ||
| CIK-FIA European Championship — OK | 25th | ||
| German Karting Championship — OK | TB Racing Team | 5th | |
| CIK-FIA World Championship — OK | 10th | ||
| WSK Final Cup — OK | 27th |
Complete Karting World Championship results
| Year | Team | Car | Quali Heats | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | TB Racing Team | OK | 5th | 10th |
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | F4 Spanish Championship | MP Motorsport | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 158 | 4th |
| Formula 4 UAE Championship | Xcel Motorsport | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 96 | 10th | |
| Formula 4 UAE Championship - Trophy Round | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | N/A | NC | ||
| 2020 | Formula Renault Eurocup | FA Racing | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 12th |
| Toyota Racing Series | Kiwi Motorsport | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 14th | |
| 2021 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | MP Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26th |
| Le Mans Cup - LMP3 | Racing Spirit of Léman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2022 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 | ARC Bratislava | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24th |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 | G-Drive Racing with APR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | TDS Racing x Vaillante | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22nd | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 4th | ||
| 2023 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTP | JDC-Miller Motorsports | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1127 | 9th* |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 332 | 21st* | ||
| European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | Panis Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 5th* |
As van der Helm was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | MP Motorsport | NAV1 7 |
NAV2 8 |
NAV3 2 |
LEC1 13 |
LEC2 17 |
LEC3 14 |
ARA1 7 |
ARA2 2 |
ARA3 13 |
CRT1 4 |
CRT2 3 |
CRT3 4 |
JER1 2 |
JER2 4 |
JER3 7 |
ALG1 10 |
ALG2 3 |
ALG3 4 |
CAT1 17 |
CAT2 3 |
CAT3 4 |
4th | 158 |
Complete Toyota Racing Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Kiwi Motorsport | HIG1 | HIG2 | HIG3 | TER1 | TER2 | TER3 | HMP1 17 |
HMP2 17 |
HMP3 11 |
PUK1 11 |
PUK2 10 |
PUK3 9 |
MAN1 6 |
MAN2 1 |
MAN3 Ret |
14th | 84 |
Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | FA Racing | MNZ1 4 |
MNZ2 9 |
IMO1 12 |
IMO2 9 |
NÜR1 10 |
NÜR2 13 |
MAG1 DNS |
MAG2 DNS |
ZAN1 13 |
ZAN2 7 |
CAT1 10 |
CAT2 7 |
SPA1 12 |
SPA2 7 |
IMO1 12 |
IMO2 14 |
HOC1 8 |
HOC2 13 |
LEC1 16 |
LEC2 14 |
12th | 45 |
Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | MP Motorsport | CAT1 21 |
CAT2 15 |
CAT3 20 |
LEC1 29 |
LEC2 18 |
LEC3 16 |
RBR1 13 |
RBR2 Ret |
RBR3 20 |
HUN1 21 |
HUN2 15 |
HUN3 19 |
SPA1 23 |
SPA2 16 |
SPA3 22 |
ZAN1 21 |
ZAN2 21 |
ZAN3 29† |
SOC1 Ret |
SOC2 C |
SOC3 18 |
26th | 0 |
Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | G-Drive Racing by APR | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 V8 | DAY 8† |
SEB | LGA | MDO | WGL | ELK | PET | NC† | 0† | ||
| 2023 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | LMP3 | Duqueine M30 - D08 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | DAY 5 |
SEB 3 |
21st* | 332* | |||||||
| GTP | Porsche 963 | Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8 | LBH | LGA 7 |
WGL 4 |
MOS 4 |
ELK 5 |
IMS |
PET | 9th* | 1127* |
Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.Season still in progress.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ARC Bratislava | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEB 13 |
SPA Ret |
MNZ 11 |
FUJ |
BHR |
24th | 0 | |
| TDS Racing x Vaillante | LMS 4† |
Non World Endurance Championship entries are ineligible to score points.Season still in progress.
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | TDS Racing x Vaillante | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 V8 | LEC 10 |
IMO 10 |
MNZ 13 |
CAT 11 |
SPA 12 |
ALG 11 |
22nd | 4 |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5th | 76 | |||||
| 2023 | Panis Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 2 |
LEC 6 |
ARA 4 |
SPA |
ALG |
ALG |
5th* | 38* |
Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | TDS Racing x Vaillante | Mathias Beche Nyck de Vries |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 368 | 8th | 4th |
| 2023 | Panis Racing | Manuel Maldonado Job van Uitert |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 316 | 25th | 14th |