Dutch racing driver (born 2001)
Niels Koolen (Dutch pronunciation: [nils ˈkoːlə(n)] ; born 25 May 2001) is a Dutch racing driver. He currently competes in the European Le Mans Series driving for the Duqueine Team .[ 1] He is the son of rally raid driver and businessman Kees Koolen .
Early career
After competing in karting prior to the COVID-19 pandemic , Koolen, a relatively latecomer to single-seater racing aged 21, made his car racing debut in Round 6 of the 2022 F4 Spanish Championship , driving for Monlau Motorsport .[ 2] [ 3] He contested the final two rounds of the 2022 Italian F4 Championship , also with Monlau Motorsport, competing under a Belgian license.[ 4]
On 5 January 2023, it was announced that Koolen would be driving for VAR -Pinnacle Motorsport in the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship .[ 5]
Following the 2022 season, Koolen partook in several Formula Regional European Championship tests, driving for Van Amersfoort Racing .[ 6] He would ultimately sign with the Dutch-based team to participate in the 2023 championship alongside Joshua Dufek and Kas Haverkort .[ 7] He struggled and was considerably behind his teammate throughout the whole campaign, and finished the standings 37th, with a best finish of 19th.[ 8]
Eurocup-3
Koolen would participate in two rounds of Eurocup-3 in 2023 at Jerez and Estoril , failing to score points in either round.[ 9]
Indy NXT
In 2024, Koolen switched to Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports .[ 10] In the first race of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , he finished 10th.[ 11] This was his best result of the season.
In August 2024, after Taylor Barnard vacated his seat in the Formula 2 Championship , Koolen was drafted by AIX Racing to race for them in the category for the Monza and Baku rounds alongside Joshua Dürksen .[ 12] He got 19th in both the Monza sprint and feature race.[ 13] After the next weekend in Baku , AIX Racing confirmed that Koolen would not return for the final two weekends of the season.[ 14] .
Sports car racing career
European Le Mans Series
Alongside his Indy NXT season, Koolen made his endurance racing debut and competed in the 2024 European Le Mans Series with the Duqueine Team .[ 1]
Racing record
Karting career summary
Season
Series
Team
Position
2016
SKUSA SuperNationals XX — X30 Junior
2Wild Karting
54th
2017
SKUSA SuperNationals XXI — X30 Senior
2Wild Karting
54th
2018
IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior
Evolution/Super B Batteries
17th
2019
IAME Series Benelux — X30 Senior
33rd
FIA Karting European Championship — OK
Team Evolution
IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior
19th
IAME Winter Cup — X30 Senior
16th
Sources:[ 15]
Racing career summary
† As Koolen 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)
Complete Italian F4 Championship results
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Eurocup-3 results
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
American open–wheel racing results
Indy NXT
(key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with L indicate a race lap led) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)
References
External links
Niels Koolen career summary at DriverDB.com