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TEAM
QUAIL AT LE MANS
The Great Drivers
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Tom KRISTENSEN
5 times
winner (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008)
Tom was born on
the 7th July 1967 in Hobro, Denmark,
the son of Carl-Erik Kristensen, who was, and still
is, an active racing driver. It is no surprise therefore that Tom was
introduced to motor racing at an early stage, and through that he got the full
support from his family when he started in go-karts.
By 1983 he was the
Danish junior go-kart champion, and by 1986 was the senior champion, the next
year he finished second in the world championship.
After taking a break
from racing due to his education, he returned in 1991 in the German Formula 3
championship as a works driver for VW. He also finished second in the Japanese
Touring Car Championship (driving a Nissan Skyline) and 2nd in the final of the
Japanese Group C Championship in a Toyota TSO10.
In 1993 he won the
Japanese Formula 3 championship with five victories, and won the FIA Formula 3 World
Fina in Fuji,
Japan. By 1994
he had moved to Formula 3000 where he finished ninth in the Japanese
Championship, and he was also runner up in the Japanese Touring car
Championship. In 1995 he shared 2nd in The Japanese Formula Nippon Championship
(Formula 3000), and was 5th in the Japanese Touring car Championship.
By 1996 he had
finished sixth in the FIA Formula 3000 European Championship but was also a
Test driver for Toyota
(Le Mans P1) and of Indy car for Bettenhausen.
In 1997 he won the
24-hours Le Mans
for Joest Porsche, with Michele Alboreto
and Stefan Johansson, where he recorded the fastest lap. He also tested Formula
1 for Miranda (Barcelona, Spaniel) and
competed in the
Japanese GT
Championship for Toyota.
In 1998 he was the
spare driver in Formula 1 for Tyrrell/BAR.and drove
at Le Mans
24-hours for BMW-Motorsport, which retired with a
wheel bearing after 4 hours.
He won the
"12 Hours of Sebring" USA
in 1999 driving a BMW. He was also leading the Le Mans 24 Hours the first 20
hours by 4 laps. However he did not finish because of a sticking throttle. He
also had a Formula 1 test for Williams.
In 2000 he
joins Audi: and wins the "12 Hours at Sebring" USA and the 24 Hours at Le Mans. He was also the Michelin F1-test
driver for Williams and Jaguar
In 2001 he was
winner of 24 hours of Le Mans
(Audi Sport Team Joest) and runner-up in 12 hours of
Sebring.
In 2002 he
completed a hat trick of wins for Audi and his fourth overall Le
Mans win, making him already one of the legends of Le Mans.
In 2003 he
joined the Bentley team and won again, his fifth, and he became the first man
ever to win Le Mans
four times in succession.
In 2004,
2005 and 2008 he won again for Audi making a total of eight wins (seven being
in succession).
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