[LM24] Tom Kristensen - the greatest Le Mans racer ever

[Kicking-back]

9 starts, 7 wins.

A wonderful achievement - and he's still got many years of driving ahead.

We're in the presence of a true superstar.

[JAG]

Hope he doesn't spin on the last corner

[luke]

I just hope no one who has not seen the race yet has been spolied.

Anyway well done to Tom, he's set a record that none will probably beat.

[gttouring]

well TK yes, but Lehtoand werner were there today- the big commonhere
for kritensen is the R8 and the R8 derived bentley LMGTP.
He is one of the golden boys of LeMans -Racing the Golden chariots
well done indeed Tom, he never wrecked and drove fast and steady
7 times

[Silk Cut Jaguar]

I don't want to take anything away from Tom but it is a bit like Schumacher winning in a Ferrari back in 2004 really, isn't it?

You need steady hands and a calm head to win the Le Mans and they don't come in a better form than Tom Kristensen, the man is going to go on and get 10 wins, without a doubt.

[ClearHooter]

Issue never in doubt. Congrats TK and Team. They couldn't have done it without each other.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Silk Cut Jaguar

I don't want to take anything away from Tom but it is a bit like Schumacher winning in a Ferrari back in 2004 really, isn't it?

You need steady hands and a calm head to win the Le Mans and they don't come in a better form than Tom Kristensen, the man is going to go on and get 10 wins, without a doubt.

Except that TK has always competed against equally strong team mates.

[the_royksopp]

This is SO huge!

It was extremely emotional for me and all the other danish friends, especially when he spoke in danish on the podium, thanking the danish fans for the support over the years, saying that he couldn't find words, so he would try with a simple 'thank you'.

The danish commentators were absolutely extatic, comparing this to the danish victory in the european championship in soccer in '92, which is genuinely regarded as the most impressive danish sports achievement ever.

I live approx. 30 km's from Hobro, where Tom K is born, and this is great! . Sorry, but it is just legendary - and i know i probably sound extremely silly .

[chezza]

No you don't royksopp!

It is a fantastic achievement, to win 7 times in le mans and to have done 6 of those in a row is amazing.

Well Done to Tom K and the Audi team!

[SALEEN S7R]

Congratulations to Tom Kristensen and Champion, both have got what they deserve. Tom Kristensen is IMO quite simply the best sportscar driver to ever grace the planet, great to see Champion winning too, first US team to win for 38 years.

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by JAG

Except that TK has always competed against equally strong team mates.

But Jacky Ickx was racing against a dozen other identical cars - not 2. And in an era when 2 car drivers were the norm.

[SALEEN S7R]

Yes but Ensign there might have only been 2 drivers back in Ickx's day, but back then the cars werent anything like as physical to drive as they are now. Also I think in some of the races Ickx raced in he did have 2 team mates, not 1, not in all his races however.

[rustyfan]

One thing that keeps amazing me is how this otherwise great forum utterly lacks the SPOILER-warning discipline that is present at lots of other racing-related forums.

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Yes but Ensign there might have only been 2 drivers back in Ickx's day, but back then the cars werent anything like as physical to drive as they are now. Also I think in some of the races Ickx raced in he did have 2 team mates, not 1, not in all his races however.

But it immediately increased his chances of winning by a proportion - 3 in 50 rather than 2 in 50. Ickx had 2 team-mates in the last 3, from memory.

Rustyfan - the race finished HOURS ago.

[chezza]

Saleen...i bet you would have a much worse time driving a car in Ickx's time and before than you would now.

[Jeffrey-Lee]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

but back then the cars werent anything like as physical to drive as they are now

You really thinks so? no power steering back in those days, no airco....etc.

Great achievement by Tom, awesome score but he won't get the top spot in my list in the end.

[SALEEN S7R]

I dont know Chezza, and personally I think the competition Kristensen has had to compete against has been just as hard as that of what Ickx has had, if not harder. This years win was hard won, as has been the others, yes hes been in a Audi or Bentley in recent years but hes had other Audi's to contend with too. IMO Kristensen is a better driver than Ickx was, and the results reflect that, and Kristensen has what, another good 5 years left in him at least. Plenty of time to get a few more Le Mans wins under his belt.

[chezza]

The competition has been at a similar level in both cases but jeffery-lee hits the nail on the head.

[SALEEN S7R]

Not for me he dosent, how many Le Mans did Ickx taken part in? I count 10, and won 6 although it might be more, that total 10 is just the ammount of times hes finished. Kristensen has competed in 9, and won 7, so far. Says it all for me.

[TheNewBob]

To his advatnage Kristensen does have a 100% win ratio for the times he's finished - not even the Audi R8 has managed that!

I think it's wrong to try and compare because the era's were far too different - you have things happening in the old days which you don't get now, and there's things you get now that weren't there in days gone by - too different to try and compare things in my view

[BSchneiderFan]

Kristensen's achievement is staggering, and he'll win more. I wouldn't bet against him for 2006. Luck, of course, has its part to play, but there's no shame in being lucky. Gun to my head, I think Allan McNish probably drives an Audi R8 faster than Tom Kristensen, but it's a matter of tenths or hundredths.

A fantastic day for Audi and Kristensen. Roll on 2006.

[Dunlop Corner]

The win in the Joest car against the works Porsche was a brialliant start to ones Le Mans career.
Then he was with BMW, and in '99 lost a win with the biggest lead Tom has ever had at Le Mans.
Then he was with the works Audi, but they had great drivers in all the cars (well, perhaps not the black car from '02).
Then with Bentley. Bentley wanted the brits to win, so instead of making an all british car, David Brabham suddenly was british, which left Tom and Dindo with Guy Smith (and yes, Guy was the slowest of the Bentley boys). But especially Dindo drove a great race, and there was never doubt which Bentley was the fastest. The best car, but his teammate had a very, very strong driver lineup!
Then with Team Goh, the slowest Audi team. They lost a couple of laps right at the start, and had to play catchup the entire race. They got a break when McNish and Lehto crashed, but it was through great driving from Tom the team stayed close to the other Veleqx, even with punctures and misfires. Then when they got the lead, the Veleqx kept closing fast and Dindo made a couple of mistakes. That is until Tom took 5 stints Sunday noon, to stabilise the gap around one lap. Then Seiji had a fine gap and was able to control Herbert during the final hours for the win.
This was Toms finest Le Mans. Won against a superior car, and especially Tom made a big difference, which is very hard to do these days, since the R8 is soo easy to drive. If Ickx was faster than the guy in the car he competed againts, he could make up alot of time. That is impossible to do today, not because every driver is equally talented, but because every top driver can drive on the limit.
This means that it is much harder to gain some time, which makes it harder for the best guy to win = winning alot of times!


To understand how Tom makes a difference, you have to watch the laptimes during the races. It was not sheer bad luck that made McNish tire fail: it was a result of a flatout battle between Tom and Alan (both guys ran 3:40s which was very rare for the R8 this race), where Alan's tire failed 6kms before it was about to be changed.
Then again the battle with the Pescarolo. Lehto and Werner lost 5 seconds a lap, which was the gap Pesca had to make up. Then Tom got in the car and was about 3 seconds a lap faster than his co-drivers. Even though he was up against Boullion, who was the fastest Pesca driver, Tom kept a good gap which forced Pesca to take alot of changes, which lead to the overheating.


I don't know alot about Ickx career, so i can not say who is the greatest. But Tom has won more races in a time where it is harder for a driver to make a difference, yet Tom constantly does soo.
Both guys had the best cars their day could offer (Tom has the R8 and Jacky had whatever car Porsche would run) but they were both up against high quality opposition.

I am just soo happy, that a guy from my country has beaten a record which was said to be untouchable the first time i watched Le Mans! And he did it in only 9 tries.

[Tom V]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

I dont know Chezza, and personally I think the competition Kristensen has had to compete against has been just as hard as that of what Ickx has had, if not harder. This years win was hard won, as has been the others, yes hes been in a Audi or Bentley in recent years but hes had other Audi's to contend with too. IMO Kristensen is a better driver than Ickx was, and the results reflect that, and Kristensen has what, another good 5 years left in him at least. Plenty of time to get a few more Le Mans wins under his belt.

I wouldn't call Kristensen a better driver than Ickx. Same like saying that Schumacher is a better driver than Senna etc.

Sportscars may be more physical to drive these days, but don't forgot that they also are a lot more reliable than in the Ickx days. If Ickx had enjoyed the reliability Kristensen enjoyed the last few years he too would have won it at least 7-8 times...

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by Tom V

I wouldn't call Kristensen a better driver than Ickx. Same like saying that Schumacher is a better driver than Senna etc.

Schumacher is better, IMO. I deal in facts, and the facts are Schumacher has won more GP's and World Championships than Senna, or indeed Anyone. Yes Senna may well have gone on to win more races and world championships than he did but none of us know if he would have for sure. So for me Schumacher is the greatest driver (at least in F1) to ever have walked the planet.

Originally Posted by Tom V

Sportscars may be more physical to drive these days, but don't forgot that they also are a lot more reliable than in the Ickx days. If Ickx had enjoyed the reliability Kristensen enjoyed the last few years he too would have won it at least 7-8 times...

It isnt just reliablity that helped Kristensen win the races though, its his outright speed and ability, IMO there is a little more to him winning 6 Le Mans consecutivly than luck. How many Le Mans did Ickx ever win consecutivly? Im not trying to dis credit what Ickx achieved, he was a fantastic driver. Its just IMO, and others that Kristensen is better, in other people's eyes however Ickx is better.

[Jeffrey-Lee]

Just judging by those few facts (wins/races) is a very limited scope to make a judgement from imo. The extra facts and circumstances are what make pointing out a best driver very personal/biased indeed.