Le Mans legends: Tom Kristensen

For years the record of six victories at Le Mans was, held by Belgian Jacky Ickx, seemed unbeatable, then came Dane Tom Kristensen who won a record nine times! A frontrunner in the FIA F3000 series, Tom Kristensen had his eyes fixed on a Formula 1 drive that never materialised.

A last minute call-up from Joest, to join Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson for the 1997 edition of the 24 Hours race, changed his life. During the race, for his first participation, he set a stirring sequence of track records during a quadruple stint … at night, and they won.

The Dane, a team leader at Audi and Bentley, took eight more victories and five more podium finishes from 18 starts to establish a record that is unlikely to be beaten, ever.

Le Mans victories: 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013.