TOM KRISTENSEN CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF LE MANS AND PREVIEWS THE 2023 RACE

Who are your race favourites this year and what are you most looking forward to?

The race is going to be epic this year. All the teams have experienced at Le Mans, they have just been competing at an earlier time. But they all coming in with great expectations.

Toyota have won the first three races of the Championship, so the favourite. The tough circuit in Sebring, my favourite race in many ways. And they won in Portimao. And then in Spa. Toyota has to carry a bit more weight and minimal more weight to Ferrari, and nearly nothing for Porsche. But then status quo with the other teams including Peugeot, Cadillac too who should not be underestimated. So that means that there is no doubt going into Le Mans that the speed is going to be more going to be very even. 

Peugeot, they’re avant-garde. The car will kind of, let's say has a philosophy of no rear wing and, like improvement with the down force. I would call it an avant-garde car. We will see, it would surprise me if they win, but nevertheless they have they have the experience. They have the know-how and they have the history of being very fast at Le Mans. And they have only been focusing on Le Mans not the other races.

Is it good to see Ferrari back racing?

Ferrari, everyone loves them. The Italian flair of the of the red cars and they look stunning. They made a line-up of youngsters coming out. And some of the let's say older experienced, obviously from Formula 1, or older experienced within their camp of Ferrari, of course the team running the Ferrari. It's good to see them back again. They have been there you know, like 10 years ago 20 years ago, but in reality, they haven't won since 50 years ago. 

So, in that sense, it's fantastic to see them with a real shot at winning again. They are have an Italian way of trying to keep it down and the expectations down. But they're very passionate and one of the cars has my former engineer, as a head engineer, of one of the cars and it's not number 50, it's the other one. And the other one has a Danish driver in Nicklas Nielsen. So a lot of the things look good from their side. They can really cause a surprise and they will be fast. I think it is the fastest car but it's not always the fastest car winning at Le Mans.

Why do you think the hybrid classes have attracted so many big manufacturers?

Even more teams are even coming next year. Lamborghini, BMW, Honda… But it's due to the regulation and the very bridge between North American championships and in the USA, with Rolex 24, the Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, and a lot of other shorter races around the continent in America, North America. Combined with the WEC - World Endurance Championship. The bridge between sort of the governing bodies of both sides of the Atlantic. 

The secondly, and not to be underestimated, is the centenary of Le Mans. And now I'm obviously a proud ambassador or grand marshal of this year’s edition. So, in that sense, I know the how much the history and heritage plays in as well. These are the decisions from five, four years ago and certainly from three years ago, the boardrooms around the world of car manufacturers. They were having very good and private and open discussions about how great it's going to be that our car is going to win this unique trophy, this infinity trophy I call it, which is just that for the taking this year. 

To win Le Mans, it's always fantastic, but to win it exactly on the point where you can call it the centennial Le Mans. I know everything is developing in the future, but I guess not many expecting to hang around for the next centenary.

What are the main challenges as a driver and a team competing at Le Mans?

The challenge is to always to be alert. Don't be let your mind wander because it's a long race. So, the magnitude of the race, you very much feel it when you’re there. 

Don't get overly excited. It's always to find that zone where you are fast, you're comfortable and you're pushing. You have to always to take risks, but calculated risks. Then it’s being a motivated in a team. You want to do you want to do well, you want to do to your team proud. So, it's always a balance of that. Never finding to be under pressure but never on the other hand, never be so cocky and over-confident. 

Which drivers are you looking forward to seeing competing this year?

There are a lot of strong drivers. Suddenly I'm looking at the drivers who are creeping in to getting overall wins at Le Mans. At Toyota you see Sebastien Buemi, you see Brendon Hartley. These are the guys who are being teamed with a very strong team with Toyota. 

But nevertheless, you also see guys coming back with the others, you see new drivers like Antonio Giovinazzi with Ferrari, you see André Lotterer with Porsche. Jean Eric Vergne and Paul di Resta with Peugeot. And personally I am very proud to say we have three Danish drivers for three teams, I will also keep an eye on 

Is it still great to be involved in this historic race with Eurosport?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's a great team and great teamwork. And you know, what's happening behind the scenes to prepare and try to do the best for the audience. it's a pleasure to be in this team and I get a lot of adrenaline from that. And it gives me a way to see to see the race like when I was racing, but having to sort of the challenge of explaining it. So, trying to make the best coverage possible. So, I feel very happy and very privileged to work with Eurosport. 

100 years of Le Mans - what makes this race so special and so iconic within motorsport, especially this year?

Le Mans is special. Le Mans is only Le Mans and the 13.62 km long, average speed way over, let's say now with new cars, nearly 240 km an hour in lap time. And they that's going to epic.

It’s the most prestigious race. It's only happening once a year. It's not something you can go and be told about. You can’t come to it the next weekend, or you call somebody up next Monday and say 'let’s do another one'. It just happens once a year, and it's the same place and that place has evolved very slowly. It’s fast and it’s during the night and day and with any weather, you just get on with it.