Nine time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen retires from racing
Tom Kristensen, the most succesful endurance racer all time, had announced his retirement from motor sport, stopping his counter on 9 victories in the Le Mans 24 hours race.
After a promising career in single-seaters (German and Japanese F3 Champion) he took part in his first Le Mans 24 Hours in 1997 winning the race. This victory sealed his sporting destiny. In 2000 he joined Audi as a works driver and quickly became one of the spearheads of the German manufacturer’s attack with a series of six consecutive victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours between 2000 and 2005 setting a new record in the process!
Even though "Mr. Le Mans" has always pointed out he believes Jacky Ickx is the rightful owner of the title - Ickx was the previous record holder with 6 Le Mans 24h successes. The Dane's down-to-earth attitude and charm and skilled car control have however won a lot of support from many endurace racing fans.
Apart from his Le Mans record, Kristensen has also won the FIA World Endurance Championship (2013), American Le Mans Series (2002), the Japanese Formula 3 championship (1993) and the German Formula 3 championship (1991). The endurance great has furthermore received some of the greatest accolade and prizes for his merits. Induction in 'Motorsport's Hall of Fame', Le Mans Drivers' hall of Fame' and Danish Motorsport Award Hall of Fame', knighted by the Danish monarchy, 2-times Danish Sportsman of the Year, 7-time Danish Driver of the Year and Sportscar Driver of the Decade by Autosport.
Tom Kristensen: “I’ve had the privilege of driving for the best team and the world’s coolest automobile manufacturer for 15 years. I’ve had great team-mates and worked together with fantastic people. My string of victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours would not have been possible without Audi. Leaving this team as a driver is hard for me. But the day had to come at one time or another. I can only thank Audi and the entire staff for the great time I’ve had and look forward to my new tasks for the brand and the team of Audi Sport.”
Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO: “A giant has retired! Tom Kristensen will remain indelibly linked to the Le Mans 24 Hours, a legendary race that has forged his legend. His nine victories will remain forever engraved on the trophy, and above all in our hearts. Tom is a marvellous driver and a gentleman, a man full of panache and passion as well as somebody who combines generosity and simplicity. He’s a real, a great champion, and we will be sorry not to see him on the grid for the Le Mans 24 Hours and all our other endurance races. But he will always be the best possible ambassador for this event which, like him, we all adore. Bye, bye Tom and thanks for everything!”
Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport: “Naturally, the retirement of a remarkable personality like Tom Kristensen is a great loss for Audi Sport Team Joest and the entire endurance racing scene. We can understand his decision to quit at the pinnacle of his career. He’s the last member of the generation that Audi began with in prototype racing. Tom has been competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) as the reigning World Champion this year and shown that he’s still one of the world’s fastest and best sports car drivers. We’ll miss him as a driver but he’s going to continue to support us with his wealth of experience and his personality."
