MOTOR SPORTS
Chantilly Arts & Elegance, Rétromobile, Nürburgring Classic and Sound
of Engine.
“I am a die-hard fan of classic cars,” Mille says. “They are genuine works
of art in my eyes. Some of them embody the greatest mechanical and
aesthetic challenges of their age. Just like our watches, they are objects
that elicit emotion.”
MASSA & MILLE
Felipe Massa, former F1 racing driver and future Formula E driver, was the
first sportsman to join the Richard Mille family (in 2004) and the first F1
driver to race while wearing a tourbillon wristwatch.
“I love classic cars. They mix history with art, and Le Mans Classic mixes
the most incredible brands and important cars that passed through all the
different periods until today,” he says. “It’s an amazing event.”
Massa’s collaboration with Richard Mille has spawned nine different
models, the first timepiece being the RM 006 Tourbillon.
“It was maybe the lightest tourbillon at that time,” Massa recalls. “It was so
easy for me to wear in the car, not disturbing at all. It was important also to
show that you can do whatever you want with a very expensive tourbillon
watch, especially racing a F1 car with lots of vibrations and crashes. Richard
is like a brother; we are great friends. He really trusts me as a sportsman and
for everything that I have always done for his brand, and it’s the same for me.”
BEYOND RACING
Le Mans Classic is not just about reliving precious memories for those
nostalgic about the past. It’s also a festival for the entire family, as fathers
share their passion with their sons, with incredible proximity between the
public, the cars and the track.
For example, in the village behind the pit lanes, visitors this year got
close to the cars and could speak to the mechanics at work, witness team
preparations, watch concerts and of course purchase automotive memo-
rabilia. They could also bid on rare cars like a 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Roadster. This year the car set a new world record, fetching $3.7 million at
auction – the best sale result for any auction held at Le Mans.
Now all eyes are riveted to 2020 for the 10th edition of Le Mans Classic,
a major anniversary that Richard Mille will certainly not miss.
WHY SPONSOR THE CLASSIC?
Richard Mille Marketing Director Timothée Malachard explains why his
company sponsors the Le Mans Classic.
“We sponsor modern motor racing for the visibility and to invite our
guests to see historic car racing. It’s a really nice experience: three days
of the ambiance, in the paddocks with vintage cars and people dressed
in vintage style, the motorbikes, the buses, the trucks, a get-together to
celebrate motor racing. We like the connotation with high-end historic
car racing, where the drivers and visitors are very close to being future
clients of the brand or are current clients. We have 450 international
guests over the weekend. All the energy that’s behind it and activating
it is much easier than taking clients, for example, to a modern Grand
Prix, to which most of them are usually already invited, and we couldn’t
invite 400 guests to Monaco.”
106 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2018
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