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Mr. Le Mans
Calling yourself “Mr. Anything” takes a certain amount of arrogance. It’s completely immodest, and very few get to self-apply that title. That’s why this book’s title, Mr. Le Mans: Tom Kristensen, is both right on the money and strangely off. Tom Kristensen is a lot of things. However, he’s not full of himself, loud, obnoxious, or an otherwise complete jerk.
But one thing you can definitely call him is Mr. Le Mans.
In His Own Words
On one level, this book is surprising because it’s truly written by Tom Kristensen, not a ghostwriter. Kristensen wrote it in Danish originally, then had it translated and edited by co-author Dan Philipsen, an editor at TV2 Sport in Denmark.
This fits because Tom Kristensen is a model of modern Danishness. He’s got the broad, handsome features, the thoughtful and well-spoken demeanor, and the quiet, Nordic determination to see something through to the end. Before anyone would mention that he’s from Denmark, you could pick him out as being from the same place as Niels Bohr and Søren Kierkegaard.
The only difference is that Tom Kristensen is good with a car—very, very good. He has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times! The next closest guy, Jacky Ickx, has won it six times. Kristensen won six out of nine races in a row—double the number of follow-on victories than the next group of guys who did three in a row. They call him Mr. Le Mans because he is Mr. Le Mans.
From Mr. Le Mans: Tom Kristensen, published by Evro Publishing Limited.
Not Your Average Story
Mr. Le Mans starts out with a tennis match Kristensen played with his best friend before his racing career started. Chapter one is, more or less, about losing versus winning, what it means to be competitive, what it means to believe you can do something, and having the confidence and humility to accomplish your goals.
Kristensen knows and deftly communicates that humility is one of the key components of being good at something. If you don’t know your limitations, and if all you have is arrogance and self-confidence, then you’re never going to overcome them. And everybody has limits, even nine-time winners at Le Mans.
Sure, Kristensen talks about racing, but he also talks about his relationship with his mom and sailing with his dad. Kristensen also explores what it’s like to be a father himself, his relationship with teammates, loss in general, the nature of friendship, rivalries, and everything else that counts as a well-examined life.
From Mr. Le Mans: Tom Kristensen, published by Evro Publishing Limited.
Sebring 2000
In an odd way, the most emblematic example of this in the book is a seemingly innocuous photograph. On page 138, there’s a mild shot of Tom and his Audi teammate Michele Alboreto at Sebring in 2000. Michele is reclining back into Kristensen; both of them are smiling. Racing fans will know that Alboreto was killed in a testing accident in Germany not long after this.
Many books would have mentioned that in the caption. But in Mr. Le Mans, it simply reads, “Tom and Michele Alboreto at Sebring 2000.” That’s it.
That photo, like the whole book, seems to say, “Yes, we know what we’re talking about here, but let’s go deeper. Racing is obvious. Death is obvious. What’s not obvious is . . . ” Which is what kept me turning the pages. This is a rare book, stylistically speaking, but then again, Tom Kristensen is a rare guy.
And speaking of photographs, the photography in this book is fantastic. There are tons of candid shots (with the family, with teammates, behind the scenes, and such) but many great racing shots with excellent color reproduction. There are shots where you didn’t know a person could look that tired and photos of unreserved joy.
Worth Every Penny
This book is rare in today’s world of prefab honesty and pre-packaged emotions; it’s True with a capital T. Although this book proves that Tom Kristensen is Mr. Le Mans, it also shows that he is, more than anything else, just himself.
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Longtime Automoblog writer Tony Borroz has worked on popular driving games as a content expert, in addition to working for aerospace companies, software giants, and as a movie stuntman. He lives in the northeast corner of the northwestern-most part of the Pacific Northwest.
Mr. Le Mans: Tom Kristensen Info
Hardcover: 432 pages
ISBN-10: 8797260304
ISBN-13: 978-8797260302
Item Weight: 2.6 lbs.
Dimensions: 7.25 x 1.77 x 9.88 inches
Publisher: Evro Publishing Limited
Original article: Mr. Le Mans, Tom Kristensen Tells All In His In-Depth & Dynamic Autobiography
