Racing driver Tijmen van der Helm (Porsche 963) is satisfied after the start of the road circuit in Long Beach.

LONG BEACH – Tijmen van der Helm finished seventh in the Long Beach Grand Prix of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. It was the first time for the twenty-year-old driver from Den Hoorn to run on the street circuit.

“We had good speed and I was seventh fastest in the race. That was good,” said a satisfied Tijmen about his race in the GTP class, the first division. Although he was also critical of himself. “I can focus more on my start. A good start is more important on the road circuit.

His debut on such a track also presented him with several new challenges. “On the one hand, it was my first time on the track, but I also had to qualify once, so it was my first time on the road circuit. That was very important.”

“But I am satisfied. It’s a pity that I made a mistake on my last lap during qualifying, because until then I was on the schedule for the third time, the fourth fastest.” Qualifying is especially important before a race on a road circuit, Tijmen knew. “If you can be ahead, you have an advantage because it’s hard to pass during a race like that.”

The race itself was ‘tough’, said Tijmen, who drives a Porsche 963 hypercar in the championship. “I had trouble getting the tires right. It was a lot of train rides because it was hard to pass someone. And in a 100-minute race, there’s not much race time left if you have a few yellow flags in a row.

However, the JDC-Miller Motorsports driver had learned a lot and his team had emerged unscathed. “It’s time for a team member, the front wing was hit during the touch. As a result, we lacked some speed afterwards. But we are really making progress with the team. We hope to get good results later this year. Now we have to make sure that we connect all our points good during the race.

His next race in the IMSA Championship is in two weeks at the Laguna Seca circuit. But before that happens, Tijmen will make his debut in the GT Open International Championship this weekend. There he will compete on behalf of the Car Collection Motorsport team in the Porsche GT3. Bashar Mardini from the United Arab Emirates is his teammate.

“To further develop as an all-round driver,” Tijmen explained his participation. “A few weeks ago I tested for two days at the Mugello circuit. That turned out really well. I was immediately ahead in terms of speed. That promises a lot.”

Tijmen’s job is to make as many meters as possible and be ahead. “This car is very different from a hypercar, but the car is almost heavy.” However, he did not have many adjustment problems in Mugello.

“I expected the transition to be bigger than it was. The car is a lot less powerful than I’m used to. But I can drive it more aggressively, attack the curbs more aggressively. It’s a very different race and that’s a big challenge. I’m really excited to see how this weekend goes!”