Tom Kristensen was born in 1967 in Hobro, in Denmark, and came through karting and the junior formulae, including a spell racing in Japan. Formula One never quite opened its door, and he found something he was better suited to.
In 1997, on his first attempt, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the Joest team in a car that had been built for another race. It was the start of a record. He won with Audi in 2000, 2001 and 2002, with Bentley in 2003, and with Audi again in 2004 and 2005 — six in a row — and again in 2008 and 2013. Nine victories: more than anyone in the race’s history.
His speed at night and in the rain, and his ability to put in stint after stint without mistakes, made him the driver every endurance team wanted. He also won repeatedly at Sebring, and was world endurance champion in 2013.
The 2013 win came in the race in which his fellow Dane Allan Simonsen was killed on the third lap. Kristensen dedicated it to him.
He retired at the end of 2014 and now works in the sport in an advisory role. In Denmark he is simply ‘Mr Le Mans’.
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