Tom Kristensen

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Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen in 2014
Born (1967-07-07) 7 July 1967 (age 56)
Hobro, Denmark
NationalityDenmark Danish
Other namesMr. Le Mans
FIA World Endurance Championship
Years active20122014
Former teamsAudi Sport Team Joest
Starts24
Championships1 (2013)
Wins6
Podiums19
Poles4
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years19972014
TeamsAudi Sport Team Joest
Audi Sport North America
ADT Champion Racing
Audi Sport Japan Team Goh
Team Bentley
Team BMW Motorsport
Joest Racing
Best finish1st (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013)
Class wins9 (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013)
DTM
Years active20042009, 2011
Former teamsAbt Sportsline
Starts61
Wins4
Podiums18
Poles7
Fastest laps4
Best finish3rd in 2005, 2006
Previous series
2004–2011
20012002
2000
1998–1999
1996–1997
1994–1995
1994–1995
1992–1993
1989, 1991
American Le Mans Series
BTCC
German Supertouring
International Formula 3000
Japanese Formula 3000
JTCC
Japanese Formula Three
German Formula Three
Championship titles
2013
2001
1993
1991
FIA World Endurance Championship
American Le Mans Series
Japanese Formula Three
German Formula Three

Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing team, driving a Tom Walkinshaw Racing-designed and Porsche-powered WSC95, after being a late inclusion in the team following Davy Jones' accident that eventually ruled him out of the race. All of his subsequent wins came driving an Audi prototype, except in 2003, when he drove a Bentley prototype. In both 1999 and 2007 Kristensen's team crashed out of comfortable leads in the closing hours of the race. He is considered by many to be the greatest driver ever to have raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1]

Elsewhere, Kristensen holds the record for most wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring with a total of six.[2] In August 2014, Kristensen was appointed Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog by the Queen of Denmark.[3] In January 2018, he was inducted into the Danish Sports Hall of Fame.[4]

Career[edit]

Kristensen was born in Hobro. His career began in 1984, winning several karting titles. He raced in Japan in the early 1990s, concurrently in Formula 3 and Touring Cars. He was German Formula 3 Champion in 1991, Japanese Formula 3 champion in 1993, and runner-up in the Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC) in 1992 and 1994. He was 6th in Formula 3000 in both 1996 and 1997, and test driver for Tyrrell in their final Formula One season in 1998, and for Michelin as they prepared their F1 tyres using an older Williams car in 2000. He was 3rd in the STW Cup in Germany in 1999, 7th in the British Touring Car Championship in 2000, and winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring in both those years.

Kristensen driving for Audi (Abt) at the Hockenheimring in the 2008 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season.

On 22 April 2007, Kristensen was involved in an accident while racing on the Hockenheimring race course in Hockenheim, Germany.[5] The crash resulted in a long break from training for Kristensen, and his participation in the 2007 Le Mans race was in jeopardy. Kristensen recuperated quickly, and was cleared by the Le Mans doctors to start the race. It was reported that a new type of collar may have prevented him suffering a broken neck in the crash.[6]

24 Hours of Le Mans[edit]

Kristensen took his 9th 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in an Audi R18 e-tron quattro in 2013.

In 2000, 2001, and 2002, he won the 24 Hours at Le Mans race with the Audi R8 along with Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro, becoming the first three drivers since Jacky Ickx in 1977 to win the race on three straight occasions. In 2003, he won the race with Bentley. In 2004, he equalled Ickx's record of six Le Mans victories in Team Goh's Audi R8. 2005 saw Kristensen win a seventh time with an American R8 entry, making him the most successful driver at the Le Mans 24-hour race (Ickx left a message on Kristensen's answering machine congratulating him on breaking his record). The 2006 race saw Kristensen finishing in third place in the new diesel-powered Audi R10. Kristensen did not finish the 2007 race following Rinaldo Capello's crash while the car was leading the race by four laps. Kristensen returned in 2008 to claim an eighth victory and extend the record for most wins.[7]

In 2013, Kristensen took his ninth victory at the event, extending his record and legendary status even further. Also he has received nickname "Mr Le Mans" because of the record of winning Le Mans 9 times total. On 19 November 2014, Kristensen announced at a press conference in Copenhagen that he was retiring from motorsport at the end of the current World Endurance Championship season.[8]

Racing record[edit]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[edit]

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years19972014
TeamsJoest Racing, BMW Motorsport, Audi Sport Joest, Team Bentley, Audi Sport Goh, Champion Racing
Best finish1st (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013)
Class wins9 (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013)
Walk of fame - Le Mans, Handprints and signatures from the winners of the 2013 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1997 Germany Joest Racing Italy Michele Alboreto
Sweden Stefan Johansson
TWR Porsche WSC-95 LMP 361 1st 1st
1998 Germany Team BMW Motorsport Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck
United Kingdom Steve Soper
BMW V12 LM LMP1 60 DNF DNF
1999 Germany Team BMW Motorsport Finland JJ Lehto
Germany Jörg Müller
BMW V12 LMR LMP 304 DNF DNF
2000 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8 LMP900 368 1st 1st
2001 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8 LMP900 321 1st 1st
2002 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8 LMP900 375 1st 1st
2003 United Kingdom Team Bentley Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Guy Smith
Bentley Speed 8 LMGTP 377 1st 1st
2004 Japan Audi Sport Japan Team Goh Japan Seiji Ara
Italy Rinaldo Capello
Audi R8 LMP1 379 1st 1st
2005 United States ADT Champion Racing Finland JJ Lehto
Germany Marco Werner
Audi R8 LMP1 370 1st 1st
2006 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 367 3rd 3rd
2007 Germany Audi Sport North America Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 262 DNF DNF
2008 Germany Audi Sport North America Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 381 1st 1st
2009 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R15 TDI LMP1 376 3rd 3rd
2010 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R15 TDI plus LMP1 394 3rd 3rd
2011 Germany Audi Sport North America Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R18 TDI LMP1 14 DNF DNF
2012 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest United Kingdom Allan McNish
Italy Rinaldo Capello
Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 377 2nd 2nd
2013 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest United Kingdom Allan McNish
France Loïc Duval
Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 348 1st 1st
2014 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Spain Marc Gené
Brazil Lucas di Grassi
Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1-H 376 2nd 2nd
Sources:[9][10]
Tom Kristensen's helmet.

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results[edit]

Kristensen driving the Audi R15 TDI which led him to a fifth win at Sebring.
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1999 Germany BMW Motorsport
Germany Schnitzer Motorsport
Germany Jörg Müller
Finland JJ Lehto
BMW V12 LMR LMP 313 1st 1st
2000 Germany Audi Sport North America Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8 LMP 360 1st 1st
2001 Germany Audi Sport North America Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8 LMP900 370 2nd 2nd
2002 Germany Audi Sport North America Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Audi R8 LMP900 327 5th 5th
2003 United Kingdom Team Bentley United Kingdom Guy Smith
Italy Rinaldo Capello
Bentley Speed 8 LMGTP 362 4th 2nd
2005 United States ADT Champion Racing Finland JJ Lehto
Germany Marco Werner
Audi R8 LMP1 361 1st 1st
2006 United States Audi Sport North America Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 349 1st 1st
2007 United States Audi Sport North America Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 353 4th 2nd
2008 United States Audi Sport North America Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 351 3rd 1st
2009 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R15 TDI LMP1 383 1st 1st
2011 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R15 TDI plus LMP1 327 4th 4th
2012 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R18 TDI LMP1 325 1st 1st
2013 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest United Kingdom Allan McNish
Brazil Lucas di Grassi
Audi R18 e-tron quattro P1 364 2nd 2nd

Complete Petit Le Mans results[edit]

Year Result Team Car Class
2000 2 Audi Sport North America Audi R8 LMP
2001 Ret Audi Sport North America Audi R8 LMP900
2002 1 Audi Sport North America Audi R8 LMP900
2010 3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI plus LMP1
2011 DNF Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 LMP1

Complete International Formula 3000 results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1996 Shannon Racing NÜR
4
PAU
Ret
7th 18
Edenbridge Racing PER HOC
5
SIL
2
SPA
3
MAG EST MUG
4
HOC
Ret
1997 Auto Sport Racing SIL
1
PAU
2
HEL
Ret
NÜR
3
PER
Ret
HOC
Ret
A1R
6
SPA
Ret
MUG
EX
JER
Ret
6th 19
Sources:[10][11]

Complete Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1992 Navi Connection Racing SUZ
FUJ
MIN
SUZ
AUT
14
SUG
Ret
FUJ
Ret
FUJ
SUZ
FUJ
SUZ
NC 0
1994 Navi Connection Racing SUZ
8
FUJ
9
MIN
9
SUZ
6
SUG
11
FUJ
9
SUZ
6
FUJ
Ret
FUJ
12
SUZ
4
9th 5
1995 Team Cerumo SUZ
4
FUJ
C
MIN
1
SUZ
2
SUG
Ret
FUJ
4
TOK
3
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
5
3rd 29
1996 Navi Connection Racing SUZ MIN FUJ TOK SUZ SUG FUJ MIN
8
SUZ FUJ NC 0
Source:[11]

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Pts
1992 Navi Connection Racing Toyota SUZ
Ret
TSU
DSQ
FUJ
DSQ
SUZ
2
SEN
3
TAI
DSQ
MIN
3
SUG
3
SUZ
3
SUZ
5
5th 24
1993 TOM'S Toyota SUZ
1
TSU
1
FUJ
1
SUZ
2
SEN
4
TAI
4
MIN
1
SUG
1
SUZ
2
SUZ 1st 57

Complete German Formula Three results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Pts
1989 Vienna Racing Team VW B HOC NÜR AVU BRN
15
ZEL
15
HOC
DNS
WUN HOC DIE NÜR NÜR HOC 31st 8
1991 Volkswagen Motorsport VW A ZOL
1
HOC
2
NÜR
2
AVU
16
MST
2
WUN
5
NOR
18
DIE
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
5
HOC
1
1st 136

Complete All-Japan GT Championship results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 DC Pts
1994 Blitz Racing Toyota Supra GT1 FUJ SEN FUJ SUG MIN
11
NC 0
1996 FET Racing Toyota Supra GT500 SUZ
10
FUJ
13
SEN
6
FUJ
4
SUG
14
MIN
7
12th 21
1997 Power Craft Toyota Supra GT500 SUZ FUJ SEN FUJ
15
MIN
4
SUG 17th 10

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results[edit]

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Pts
1992 Object T Nissan Skyline GT-R JTC-1 AID
2
AUT
2
SUG
4
SUZ
1
MIN
2
TSU
5
SEN
5
FUJ
3
3rd 103
1993 Object T Nissan Skyline GT-R JTC-1 MIN
3
AUT
2
SUG
Ret
SUZ
4
AID
3
TSU
3
TOK
7
SEN
5
FUJ
1
5th 95
1994 Toyota Team Cerumo Toyota Corona AUT
1

5
AUT
2

6
SUG
1

1
SUG
2

12
TOK
1

4
TOK
2

7
SUZ
1

1
SUZ
2

1
MIN
1

2
MIN
2

DNS
AID
1

1
AID
2

1
TSU
1

NC
TSU
2

5
SEN
1

2
SEN
2

5
FUJ
1

24
FUJ
2

6
2nd 134
1995 Toyota Team Cerumo Toyota Corona EXiV FUJ
1

1
FUJ
2

1
SUG
1

5
SUG
2

Ret
TOK
1

1
TOK
2

12
SUZ
1

Ret
SUZ
2

8
MIN
1

3
MIN
2

4
AID
1

Ret
AID
2

DSQ
SEN
1

18
SEN
2

16
FUJ
1

Ret
FUJ
2

4
5th 82

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
1998 JAS Team Honda Sport Honda Accord HOC
1

9
HOC
1

12
NÜR
1

Ret
NÜR
2

DNS
SAC
1

7
SAC
2

Ret
NOR
1

14
NOR
2

8
REG
1

8
REG
2

16
WUN
1

3
WUN
2

5
ZWE
1

Ret
ZWE
2

9
SAL
1

8
SAL
2

7
OSC
1

13
OSC
2

10
NÜR
1

7
NÜR
2

5
11th 293
1999 JAS Team Honda Sport Honda Accord SAC
1

Ret
SAC
2

6
ZWE
1

Ret
ZWE
2

4
OSC
1

2
OSC
2

2
NOR
1

19
NOR
2

Ret
MIS
1

Ret
MIS
2

4
NÜR
1

16
NÜR
2

1
SAL
1

4
SAL
2

2
OSC
1

3
OSC
2

Ret
HOC
1

2
HOC
2

1
NÜR
1

3
NÜR
2

1
3rd 486
Source:[12]

Complete British Touring Car Championship results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead feature races for at least one lap – 1 point awarded)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Pts
2000 Redstone Team Honda Honda Accord Touring BRH
1

7
BRH
2

Ret
DON
1

5
DON
2

6
THR
1

9
THR
2

Ret
KNO
1

5
KNO
2

Ret
OUL
1

3
OUL
2

1*
SIL
1

3
SIL
2

6*
CRO
1

4
CRO
2

9
SNE
1

2
SNE
2

Ret
DON
1

10
DON
2

Ret
BRH
1

2
BRH
2

8
OUL
1

8
OUL
2

Ret
SIL
1

1
SIL
2

1*
7th 143
Sources:[10][12]

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results[edit]

(key)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Points
2004 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2004 HOC
4
EST
4
ADR
10
LAU
10
NOR
6
SHA1
Ret
NÜR
5
OSC
1
ZAN
6
BRN
2
HOC
4
4th 43
2005 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2005 HOC
Ret
LAU
2
SPA
3
BRN
2
OSC
5
NOR
7
NÜR
2
ZAN
4
LAU
3
IST
5
HOC
4
3rd 56
2006 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2006 HOC
2
LAU
2
OSC
1
BRH
18†
NOR
5
NÜR
5
ZAN
1
CAT
9
BUG
3
HOC
3
3rd 56
2007 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2007 HOC
Ret
OSC LAU BRH NOR
5
MUG
8
ZAN
18†
NÜR
8
CAT
9†
HOC
6
14th 9
2008 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2008 HOC
3
OSC
19†
MUG
3
LAU
16
NOR
7
ZAN
3
NÜR
Ret
BRH
7
CAT
13
BUG
8
HOC
5
8th 27
2009 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2009 HOC
1
LAU
12
NOR
8
ZAN
8
OSC
8
NÜR
Ret
BRH
19†
CAT
2
DIJ
18†
HOC
15
8th 21
2011 Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM 2009 HOC ZAN SPL LAU
7
NOR NÜR BRH OSC VAL HOC 15th 2
Sources:[10][11][12]

1 – A non-championship one-off race was held in 2004 at the streets of Shanghai, China.

  • † — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90 per cent of the winner's race distance.

Complete Le Mans Series results[edit]

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 Rank Points
2010 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R15 TDI plus Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V10
(Diesel)
CAS
SPA
3
ALG HUN SIL
Ret
22nd 13
2011 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 TDI Audi TDI 3.7 L Turbo V6
(Diesel)
CAS SPA
3
IMO
4
SIL
7
EST NC 0
Sources:[10][11]

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results[edit]

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2012 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6
(Hybrid Diesel)
SEB
1
SPA
3
LMS
2
SIL
3
SÃO
3
BHR
2
FUJ
3
SHA
2
2nd 159
2013 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6
(Hybrid Diesel)
SIL
1
SPA
2
LMS
1
SÃO
2
COA
1
FUJ
2
SHA
3
BHR
Ret
1st 162
2014 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo V6
(Hybrid Diesel)
SIL
Ret
SPA
2
LMS
2
COA
2
FUJ
5
SHA
5
BHR
5
SÃO
3
4th 117
Sources:[10][11]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Richards, Giles (19 November 2014). "Nine-times winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours Tom Kristensen retires". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ^ Richards, Giles (19 March 2012). "Audi secures 10th victory in 12 Hours of Sebring endurance classic". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Le Mans 24 Hours ace Tom Kristensen knighted in Denmark". Autosport. 6 August 2014. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Racer-legende nyt medlem af Hall of Fame". sportenshalloffame.dk (in Danish). 7 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Tom Kristensen i alvorligt uheld" (in Danish). 22 April 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  6. ^ "Tom Kristensen er forslået over hele kroppen" (in Danish). 22 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Audi edges Peugeot in classic Le Mans 24 Hours duel". MaximumMotorsport.co.uk. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen announces retirement from racing". 19 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Tom Kristensen". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Tom Kristensen Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Tom Kristensen". Motor Sport. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Tom Kristensen race results". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

External links[edit]