Q & A with Tom Kristensen

But a short run in a DTM Audi at Brands Hatch on Saturday aside, the Dane has not driven a racing car since the accident. He also had to miss the pre-race test at Le Mans.

Autosport.com heard from Kristensen as he prepared to return to action in this evening's qualifying session.

Q: Are you feeling 100 percent?

Tom Kristensen: I am looking forward to being in the car. For a racing driver to feel 100 percent, he needs to be in the car. But yeah, I feel in that direction. And from being where I have been some weeks ago, it is definitely much better. 

Q: Did the recovery process start slowly?

TK: It started slowly, and then it starts being... not feel-able. This is a little bit of a worry, but I can tell that for anyone who has to go through this process, that this is a process that you have to go through.

Q: Before each DTM race Audi left your return open - they didn't make any firm decisions. Was this the best way to approach it, to put no pressure on you?

TK: It was a very human approach, a very good approach, and I am grateful that Audi that. When they released me from the hospital, I was released, went home, switched off those things [pointing at his mobile phone]...

I have just got a new son, so I could enjoy things with him and take it easy. And at that time, I also realised how happy I was to be safe. After an impact like this... it was a strong car, and I would say that the standards at DTM are very strong, when you can survive the way I did. So this was good.

But humanly, it is very important not to say day-by-day how you feel. I just said, OK, I sms with [Wolfgang] Ullrich and he said that he would like me to talk on this day, so enjoy yourself and then we'll talk.

On the first deadline, I was not happy not to be better. But it was quite clear for me that there was no way that I should be at Oschersleben. That was a sad one, because that of course is when you think that you have left the championship. The next one, at Laustiz, I was trying on the Tuesday to do a mountain bike ride, a long, strong one. I went for two-and-a-half, three hours. This was very bad for my health, and then I turned back. I called the team immediately to say that I was not fit.

Then we knew that we were going to talk in the middle of last week, but I was able to text him and say that I was ready, I did some physical, hard training where I went well, and that I would like to have a go in a car.

And that is what happened. First a go-kart, and then a DTM car at Brands. Then we made the decision on Sunday. 

Q: So before you drove the car at Brands were you already reasonably sure that you would be fit?

TK: Yes, of course, because I had been mountain biking and things. But to be honest, you need to be in the car. And that is the same for me now. I want to be in the car, but I feel absolutely confident after the Brands Hatch test. But the interviews here at le Mans will be much easier when we have them tomorrow morning!

Q: When you did your runs at Brands Hatch, was 20 or 30 laps enough to tell you that you can do double stints at Le Mans?

TK: If I didn't, I wouldn't sit here, would I?

Q: And it was your decision, that you felt alright inside?

TK: The decision was made by Dr Ullrich and the doctors. I wouldn't drive unless everything was cleared with those people. 

Q: So you have come here just as strong as you come here every year then?

TK: No, because I was not here for the pre-test. My build-up to the race has not been like I want it to be, because I had a crash at Hockenheim. So I think that's quite obvious. 

Q: Does that mean that in qualifying you need to do more laps than Dindo [Capello] and Allan [McNish]?

TK: I was not here for the pre-test. So I have a little bit more of a humble approach for some laps, until everything is gelling. But what is positive is that I have absolute confidence, if you ask about Dindo and Allan, because they have been through things like this as well. The most important thing here is not to let demanding questions get in your way. What is important now is to get into the car, think positive, and get the job done so I don't have to deal with questions. 

Q: What do you think about the diesel fight this year?

TK: I followed the pre-test from the sofa, and Peugeot were very impressive. I certainly have respect for what they have done in a short time, and also the races they have won. So it's good. It will be a good and fierce fight, there is no doubt.

It's good for the racing, it's good for Le Mans, but for us as drivers, I wouldn't say it necessarily makes it any more difficult than last year, but it does make the race more interesting. No doubt.

The internal competition [within Audi] is always as strong, but it is very interesting for the media when you have different manufacturers.  It doesn't necessarily help if we have a dominant car like we had last year. It's just as difficult for the driver last year as it is today. 

Q: Are you looking forward to sharing the track with Jacques Villeneuve?

TK: Actually, we had the debut in 1992, in the Group C Sportscar. We had Eddie Irvine, myself and him, so we had the debut together. It's nice to be back here and I will greet him later in the drivers' briefing. He has had a detour to Le Mans obviously, he had some character-building years in Champ Cars, Indy and then Formula One, and it's nice to see that he has finally made it here. I am sure he has a big ambition, a big dream - he has won everything else, but let's see if he can win this one. 

Q: Are you offering him any tips?

TK: He doesn't need any tips. At the moment he could give me tips about the new circuit, like my team-mates did. I am going into a new circuit. You asked before if I was 100 percent - how could I be 100 percent on a circuit that has changed quite a lot?

Q: Can Jacques' experience in Formula One be of any help to him?

TK: It's very different. Everything in racing today is specialised and there are all sorts of different things. Here, he will have to deal with things... in Formula One, it feels like there are a lot of Safety Cars. There are a lot of cars that you have to blend in with, but hey, I don't need to teach him any tricks. There is no doubt that he will be a strong competitor. For sure they are two different things, but at every step in his career, he has dealt with it, for so many years in different things. And he has always been able to come out on top. I just hope that he will struggle a little bit longer at Le Mans!