Tom Kristensen is the greatest competitor the Le Mans 24-Hour race has ever known. The Dane took his first victory in the event in 1997 and followed it with a string of six successive wins from 2000-2005 that took him past the record previously held by Belgian legend Jackie Ickx. He added an eighth win in 2008 for good measure.
Kristensen also holds the record at the Sebring 12-Hours with six wins, confirming his status as the greatest endurance racer of all time. His career on four wheels stretches back nearly three decades. Along with his endurance programme, Kristensen has also regularly competed in the German DTM touring car series for Audi, with whom he has twice finished in the title top three.
In 2011, Kristensen made it to both the ROC Nations Cup final for Team Nordic and the Race Of Champions Grand Final, defeating Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher along the way. He had already made it to both finals once before in 2005, when he and Mattias Ekström emerged victorious in the ROC Nations Cup for Team Scandinavia.
Kristensen returned to the individual Race Of Champions Grand Final in 2012 only to be beaten by Romain Grosjean.
Tom Kristensen - Career Highlights
- Record eight-time Le Mans 24 Hour race winner – (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2008)
- Record six-time winner of the 12 hours of Sebring (1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2009 & 2012)
- American Le Mans Series Champion 2002
Other Achievements
2009: Took victory in the first round of the DTM season, his 4th career win
2006: Finished 3rd in DTM Championship with Audi
2005: Finished 3rd in DTM Championship with Audi
2004: DTM Rookie of the year
2003: Won 1000km of Spa and 1000km Le Mans, with Audi, plus Le Mans 24 Hours with Bentley
2002: American Le Mans Series Champion; Le Mans 24 Hours Winner (both with Audi)
2001: 4 wins in the American Le Mans Series; Le Mans 24 Hours winner (both with Audi)
1998-2000: F1 test driver for Minardi, BAR-Tyrrell & BMW-Williams
1997: Won Le Mans 24 Hours on his debut with Porsche-Joest
1995: Runner-up in the Japanese F3000 championship
1993: Japanese F3 Champion
1991: German F3 Champion, voted world’s best F3 driver
1985: Go Kart Nordic and Denmark Champion
1982: Go Kart debut
ROC Highlights
- Years contested: 2001-2012
2012: Reached the Race Of Champions Grand Final, losing out to Romain Grosjean
2011: Reached the Race Of Champions Grand Final, losing out to Sébastien Ogier; took Team Nordic to the final of the ROC Nations Cup in partnership with Juha Hänninen
2008: Kristensen and Ekström took Team Scandinavia to the final of the ROC Nations Cup
2005: Won the ROC Nations Cup for Scandinavia with Mattias Ekström. Finished as runner-up in the Race Of Champions