Kees Nierop

Kees Nierop, born on March 16, 1958, in Purmerend, Netherlands, is a Canadian racing driver with a career spanning several decades. His introduction to motorsports came from his father, Klaas, who took him to races in Europe before the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Kelowna, BC. Nierop's first attempt at racing was at the Knox Mountain Hillclimb, where he rolled his Datsun 240z. Undeterred, he repaired the car and went on to win the Canadian GT-1 Championship in 1978. In the same year, he qualified sixth in a Formula Atlantic race at Westwood, BC, despite never having driven a formula car before.

Nierop's career highlights include winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1983 driving a Porsche 934. He also raced in the English Formula 3 Championship for two years, competed in the World Endurance Championship race at Mosport, and drove a Porsche 956. He achieved a third-place finish at Road America in Bob Akin's Coca-Cola 962. In 1986, he captured the Rothmans Porsche 944 Championship. Nierop was also a Porsche factory driver at Le Mans and Daytona Beach, driving the racing version of the Porsche 959, called the 961. He is the only Canadian to have his name on a Porsche factory race car displayed in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

Currently, Nierop works as a racing instructor and facilitator. He has been a certified Porsche Sport Driving School instructor since 2008 for PSDS–USA and Canada. He is also the Chief Driving Instructor for Area27 and a guest instructor at the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit. In 2007 and 2008, he participated in the Transsyberia Rally driving a Porsche Cayenne S for Porsche North America (Team Canada).