Le Mans is such a great race because you can never do anything alone. You have to work as a team member. And being a team member makes you a better person.
Tom KristensenI never had any financial support or sponsors, and so I always had to, at every level, prove myself the hard way. I was five years in Japan before I got my debut at Le Mans. And I think this is a humble way to get through as a racing driver.
Tom KristensenYes, with Le Mans, obviously, the approach needs to be different. You have a race only once a year, so in the whole focus, the whole energy, you know that you cannot change the world and have a race two weeks later.
Tom KristensenThe trick at Le Mans is to get the car 'in the window.' Everything is critical: the tyre pressure, the brake temperature, and that means you have to push the car a lot to get it into the window - it's about getting everything to work right and getting the car to flow through the corners.
Tom KristensenI don't see myself racing at 50 years old. I enjoy racing, and that has been my whole life. But one day I will take time to look at other things. I know that everything has an end date, even life, and I also have a family and there are other things to enjoy than trying to be first into the corner and fastest out.
Tom Kristensen