Just before the season finale at the 6 Hours of Sao Paolo, “Mister. Le Mans,” Tom Kristensen, officially announced his retirement from competitive racing, after such an eclectic career that has seen him leave a standard in the sportscar world that may never be eclipsed.
It was anticipated that several people were being considered to step into the seat to help usher in the success that Audi continues to enjoy in sportscars, having won 13 times at Le Mans in 16 years.
The driver that finally has his chance to prove that he has the true potential to be a winner at Le Mans, as well as a WEC
champion, is Cambridge’s Oliver Jarvis.
The Briton, who started out in single seaters, and was the winner of the 2005 McLaren BRDC Autosport Award, has raced in Formula Ford, Formula Renault UK, the DTM, the FIA GT1 Championship and even Super GT. He’s even won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona back in 2013, along with Dion von Moltke, Filipe Albuquerque and Edoardo Mortara, driving the Audi R8 LMS for Alex Job Racing.
The 30-year-old, who coincidentally celebrated his birthday during the weekend of the 25th Autosport International Show, talked about a a host of
topics, such as the work that goes into hybrid technology, battling with sister brands, as well as wondering what Nissan is up to behind closed doors.
Many happy returns, Olly. It’s seems as if everything has come along at once, with Christmas and the arrival of your daughter Silva. Then to top it all off, you got given the nod by Dr. Ullrich and Chris Reinke to take on a full WEC campaign, so you’re not “replacing” Tom, but you’re stepping in.
I spoke with Allan in 2013, and then Tom himself last year, and you can’t replace them because of who they are, but we have got a change of the guard to the new
generation with yourself, Loïc and Lucas, André, Marcel and Benoit, as well as Marco, Filipe and René in the third car.
When you got the call after working very hard to get here, what were your first thoughts?
My first thoughts were of excitement, as I’ve been working very hard for this, which stands out when you look at what it has taken to get to this goal. Then to be told I’ve got the seat, it wasn’t really clean cut, as I had two really good teammates in Filipe and Marco.
All three of us were potentially up for the seat, as well as Dr. Ullrich probably fielding thousands of calls and emails from outsiders, such as current and ex-F1 drivers. To get that opportunity is something special, as well as being a dream come true.
Looking back on last year, where you raced with Ishiura-san at Lexus Team SARD in Super GT. You’re no stranger to it, as you raced it with Tom’s Toyota in the Supra at Suzuka back in 2007. You finished 13th overall with 24 points in what is a very competitive series.
What is the difference between DTM and Super GT, based on your experience on both series, apart from the endurance aspect and the tyre suppliers that are being used?
The car itself is a DTM car in Japan, but they are using the new engine regulations, which is a two-litre turbocharged engine, which offers in the region of 100-120 horse power more.
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