Tom Kristensen will step down from the Audi A4 team in the DTM at the end of this season, after six years with the team
“My decision was made over a long period of time and is now final. But now I can drive freely and concentrate on fighting for the title,” Kristensen said to sports website 1asport.de.
“To share the cockpit with other pilots, to give everything for a higher purpose and fight for victory on a unique track – that is the biggest thing for me,” said Kristensen. The Copenhagen Post
When Tom Kristensen says goodbye to the paddock at the end of the season he will have been a member of the DTM family for half a decade and made his mark on the most popular international touring car series, both on and off the track. Seven pole positions, 16 podium places, and three victories already make for an impressive track record, which the Dane would like to extend even further: “It’s been a long process making this decision and now it’s final,” says Kristensen. “From now on, I’ll be revving up my engine freely and fight for the title once more. My personal final DTM spurt starts this weekend at Hockenheim.”
As successful as Tom Kristensen has been in the DTM, sports cars have always been his big passion. “Sharing the cockpit with other drivers, working together to come up with the optimum setup, and fighting for victory on a unique track—that’s simply the greatest thing for me,” raves Kristensen. Eight times, more than any other driver in the world, the 41-year-old Dane won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in summer 2008 with the Audi R10 TDI. “That Audi gives me the opportunity to compete in two such different motorsport categories at the highest level is a big privilege which I greatly appreciate,” says Kristensen.
Kristensen loves the balancing act between the DTM and Le Mans as it allows him to play out his—arguably unique—versatility in the cockpits of different race cars. When asked about his personal favorite his answer is always diplomatic: Le Mans is the best and biggest race for him, the DTM the best and biggest race series. “The DTM has been a fantastic period in my career during which I experienced a lot of different things and worked together with great people,” says the family man and father of three looking back on the past few years. Motorsport.com
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