"The Danish spectator community is close to 40,000," affirmed John Nielsen, a Dane who is both the Essex Team manager and a driver. The number of qualified Danish drivers and fierce Danish pride expressed in support of their national heroes certainly helps to explain the large number of fans.

Tom Kristensen, son of Danish Touring Car Champion Carl Erik Kristensen, has been a part of the automobile world his entire life. He was born on July 7th, 1967 in Hobro. Racing in category LMP1 for the 2008 24 Heures du Mans, Kristensen is indisputably the most decorated driver in the paddock with eleven Le Mans participations and above all seven victories, five of them consecutive (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005), an absolute record in Le Mans history. It's a list of achievements that makes Kristensen a legend, and in 2006 he received the Rolex "Spirit of Le Mans" trophy that is given at each edition to personalities who best embody the real spirit of Les 24 Heures du Mans.

This trophy is naturally a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, the Official Watch of Les 24 Heures du Mans and the Le Mans Series. "Spirit of Le Mans" and the name of the recipient are engraved on the underside of the watch case, an exclusive and permanent reminder. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona perfectly symbolises the precision needed to succeed in this legendary motor sport test.

Throughout the years Kristensen has collected many trophies. In confirmation of his legendary status, the Dane has not only won with Italian Champion Michele Alboreto, but also with Swede Stefan Johansson in 1997, when he was participating in the 24 Heures du Mans for the very first time.

Unusually, Kristensen has also successively changed steering wheels throughout his career: after driving with TVR, his first victory, Kristensen spent two consecutive years with BMW before moving on to Audi, returning to his winning ways. He then went to Bentley for another win, only to be invited to return to Audi where, for this year, he will fight for his chance at an eighth victory.

Does he have a favourite victorious moment? "Sorry, but I just can't choose," he said with a smile. On the track, his preferred areas are the 'S' curves, which will hopefully bring him good luck this year as his car, the Audi number 2 which he shares with McNish and Capello, is currently in fourth position just behind the three Peugeot cars in the lead.

Another Danish driver to keep an eye on is Jan Magnussen, born July 4th 1973 in Roskilde. Magnussen began his distinctions in 1995 in F1 with McLaren, where he finished 10th at his first Pacific Grand Prix (Aida). He continued in F1 with Stewart Ford in 1997 and '98 and since then he has had a solid and brilliant career in North America, making the Sebring podiums at the mythic Rolex 24 At Daytona in Florida.

This past Thursday, June 12th, he earned his Corvette Racing team their very first pole position in history, and he will be racing in the LMGT1 category with the Corvette C6.R number 63. "Of course I already have 'my' Rolex," said Magnussen. "I own two that really have particular stories behind them. One was a gift from Jackie Stewart, a Rolex Testimonee, from when I was a part of his team in 1997 and 1998, and the other one is also very, very special. I won it with my victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona- and you could never separate it from me."

Coming back to the event at hand he smiled really big and said, "I love Le Mans. For me and Corvette, this is the event of the year. The car is really competitive and we worked well in qualifying. I'm not looking forward to running in the rain, as I had a taste in the tests of what conditions would be like. But our car is good and well behaved. Here you have to be a very fast driver and when you know that you are, you can be relaxed and you do not have to worry about maintaining the rhythm. When I saw the speed of the Peugeots and the Audis in the qualification runs I was impressed. I hope to have a good weekend as Kevin, my 15-year-old son, is here supporting me, so hopefully I can give him something to celebrate."

Another popular Danish driver is John Nielsen (category LMP2, Team Essex, Porsche RS Spyder number 31). Nielsen was quickly surrounded by his supporters the minute he got back to his garage. He shook his head and smiled at them. "If we can achieve a class victory for our young team right from the beginning of our involvement in Les 24 Heures du Mans I would be absolutely delighted. It would be great! I've actually learned a lot from my previous mistakes in the Le Mans Series. This is a big challenge for the drivers, the team and the car. Everything needs to work together throughout the entire 24 hours- it's almost impossible, but that's why this race is so superb."

Nielson is something of a veteran as he has participated in Les 24 Heures du Mans 18 times and had a class victory in 1990. He adds, "I really like this race. I got officially engaged here on site in Le Mans last year. I gave a Rolex watch as an engagement token to Bitten, my future wife and the mother of our six children (5, 7, 9, 14, 22, 24 years old)." A mechanic interrupts him as a fan is desperate for his autograph and he consults his watch, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona that he has worn for 20 years.

He adds, "Yesterday the qualifications went really well. We are placed in 16th position on the grid, the first in our category. Our plan is to stay on the road and keep a good rhythm. The reason I like racing Porsches so much is that they have no limits and you can really keep pushing them hard without getting into trouble. It's enough to drive fast and to give it your all. Speed is an asset for Porsche because they are very reliable cars. That helps get rid of the stress- all you have to do is drive." He waves to someone in the crowd and then says, "This morning I went into the camp grounds where the Danish are centralized. Some of these campsites can hold up to five thousand people! I had a conference with the campers about my results from yesterday."

One could say that his brilliant blue eyes are even more striking in his sky blue uniform. Hi co-driver joins him, Casper Elgaard. This is Nielsen's 6th time at Les 24 Heures du Mans and his smile evokes his past success: he placed third in his class last year, a good performance that he would love to repeat. "I'm just hoping for a good weekend. We tried to get the pole position and yesterday we worked on the car. I want to show my friend Lise Marie and my father Peter that the team works well.. I must say that all of the mechanics are fantastic and very devoted to what they are doing- they have been training all winter! Our project is really supported by a true team."