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How Kristensen became Mr Le Mans

Le Mans without Tom Kristensen will be a bizarre experience for GARY WATKINS. Our sportscar guru pays tribute to a legend who might not have got his first call-up but for our man's help...

The Le Mans 24 Hours is going to feel a bit odd next season. For the first time in nearly 20 years the name Tom Kristensen is not going to grace the entry list. I haven't got my head around it yet, but thankfully he's given us a shade over six months to get used to the idea.

I guess I grew accustomed to the concept that I'd be reporting on a race in which Tom had a realistic chance of winning. Everyone talks about his nine victories in the 24 Hours, but perhaps the more telling statistic is his strike rate over 18 participations - a cool 50 per cent. And he could, and undoubtedly should, have won more.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.