He did test for several F1 teams, including Minardi, Tyrrell and Williams, impressing as he went, but fate dictated that a race seat would pass him by.Īnd thus F1’s loss was plenty of other series’ gain. And that’s before any mention of the success for which he’s best known: a record nine Le Mans 24 Hours and six Sebring 12 Hours victories, as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship title with Audi in 2013. TK’s racing CV includes countless wins and/or titles in single-seaters (Formula 3 and F3000), touring cars (British and German Supertouring and the DTM) and sportscars (American Le Mans, FIA Sportscar World Cup). And I was reminded of the great Dane’s star quality recently when he announced his retirement, aged 47, from the international stage. Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, multiple Ind圜ar champions and Indianapolis 500 winners Dario Franchitti, Rick Mears and AJ Foyt and MotoGP record breaker Valentino Rossi must be on most people’s lists.įor me, though, there’s one man who rises above all others: Tom Kristensen. I’m often asked about this, too, and there are half a dozen or so who spring to mind. What’s far more interesting is thinking about the drivers who didn’t make it to the top level and really should’ve done. “What’s far more interesting is thinking about the drivers who didn’t make it to the top level and really should’ve done. For me, there’s one man who rises above all others: Tom Kristensen”Īs far as the 650 drivers who’ve raced in at least one world championship grand prix since 1950 go, we could argue until the cows come home about who deserved to be on the grid and who didn’t. Too often a driver who’s won races and championships in the majority of feeder series in which he’s competed has had to watch helplessly as one or more of his vanquished-yet-deep-pocketed contemporaries makes it all the way. Sadly, in the modern game, commercial clout is king. And it’s an emotive subject, especially when the dreaded ‘bags of gold’ are mentioned. I’ve often been quizzed about the rights and wrongs of why one up-and-coming driver reaches the top rung of the steep and slippery ladder on the way to Formula 1 while another – perhaps equally talented and/or well-qualified – young pedaller doesn’t.
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