24h Le Mans
24 HOURS CENTENARY – PEOPLE AND MACHINES ⎮ Twenty-five years after Tom Kristensen’s first win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he has been named ambassador for the 100th anniversary of the race that changed his life back in 1997.
For some drivers, winning the 24 Hours is the pinnacle of their career. But for Tom Kristensen, his first victory simply launched a journey to becoming a bona fide endurance racing legend. He is the current win record-holder and has earned icon status across two decades in the discipline.
Back in 1997, at the age of almost 30 (he was born on 7 July 1967), Tom Kristensen was competing in Formula 3000 international single-seaters (predecessor to the current FIA Formula 2) when called upon by Ralf Jüttner, the right-hand man of Reinhold Joest, four-time team owner at Le Mans in 1984, 1985, 1994 and 1996. Joest Racing was looking for a third driver to join Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson. The Dane accepted the opportunity despite scheduling concerns as he was due to take part in a Formula 3000 testing session in Austria the same day as qualifying for the 24 Hours. To make it in time, he rented Joest Racing's private plane with his own money!
By the time he took the start in the race on Saturday, Kristensen had covered only 17 laps of the circuit. Breathing down the necks of two factory Porsche 911 GT1s, the TWR-Porsche prototype of Alboreto/Johansson/Kristensen ran like clockwork. After the leader, the #25 911 GT1, was forced to retire following a dust-up just before 08:00 on Sunday, the #26 fell victim to a fire in the Mulsanne Straight at 13:43. In the wake of an impeccable showing that included the fastest lap, and with the invaluable help of his two seasoned teammates, Kristensen won his first 24 Hours. The love story between the Danish driver and Le Mans had just begun.
Fom 1997 to 2005, Kristensen was practically unstoppable at the 24 Hours. In nine runnings, he was either forced to retire (in 1998 and 1999) or won the race (six in a row from 2000 to 2005). On 19 June 2005, his seventh victory made him the new win record-holder, unseating Jacky Ickx, and he then went on to secure two more in 2008 and 2013. Jacky Ickx: "When Tom Kristensen won for the seventh time at Le Mans in 2005, I found it incredible because records are meant to be broken. You don't win nine 24 Hours of Le Mans by accident. For Tom, the timing was perfect, he is elegant, he is talented, he was surrounded by very competent people as was I during my time, he had excellent teammates at the wheel and he won nine times thanks to all of it."
Twice Kristensen came close to achieving a mind-boggling 10 wins at Le Mans. On Sunday morning in 2014, he held the top spot along with Marc Gené and Lucas di Grassi, but ended up finishing second. Fifteen years earlier, as a factory BMW driver, a technical problem a few hours before the chequered flag caused race leader and teammate JJ Lehto to leave the track. BMW Motorsport Director at the time, Mario Theissen mentioned the letdown years later during an evening in honour of Kristensen. "I told him: Tom, I am very sorry because you should have one more Le Mans win. And he replied: 'yes, you are right, this was the biggest disappointment in my career, because it was such a fantastic race, we were leading by four laps and without this mechanical failure it would have been an overwhelming victory.'"
Eighteen participations, nine wins, five other podium finishes and only four retirements: with such an extraordinary track record, who better to serve as ambassador for the 24 Hours of Le Mans centenary than Tom Kristensen? He will attend all events related to the 100th anniversary celebration, such as the presentation at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance last August of the one-of-a-kind bronze trophy destined for the winning team next 11 June. In anticipation of the upcoming festivities, let's leave the last word to the legend, Tom Kristensen: "25 years on...I was not prepared for all of this, but I had a great team around me and this is what you need here. People respect Le Mans and the centenary, it is a valuable milestone of an amazing heritage."
PHOTOS: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS (Copyright - ACO Archives). From top to bottom: Tom Kristensen at the wheel of the Bentley with which he clinched his fifth win, in 2003; the TWR-Porsche from his rookie 24 Hours and first win; the 2003 Bentley EXP Speed 8 of Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Guy Smith gave the British manufacturer its first victory since 1930; representing Audi, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish (from left to right) formed one of the most successful driver line-ups in the history of endurance racing with a total of 15 wins at the 24 Hours; Tom Kristensen on his way to his eighth win at Le Mans, in 2008.
