There is a lot people don’t know about Le Mans, the iconic 24-hour endurance race, known as the Le Mans Endurance Race, that runs in France in June that Rolex has supported as the official timekeeper since 2001. That is coming on a quarter of the endurance race’s 100-year run. Unofficially, of course, the Geneva watch stalwart has been the wristwear of choice long before that, as seen in the pits, paddocks, and racecars even before sponsorship and marketing became the big thing it is today.
Le Mans has always been a test of both man and machine, on many levels for both. The long straights, for example. On the technical side, they will cause these massive machines to basically peg their engines to maximum for quite a long time, which can cause a huge amount of stress. And this happens every single lap. At the same time the engines become glowing hot, the brakes actually do the reverse and get pretty cold. Which is bad because at the end of that straight is some seriously heavy braking. The brakes therefore need to be extremely effective while going from very cold to glowing-red hot almost immediately. Not to mention aerodynamics. You need aero and downforce to take the fast curves, but that can also negatively affect the speed on long straights.
What about the driver? Endurance drivers actually say they go through so much during any long race, more so at Le Mans. The long straight is the only time they have the time to wiggle their fingers a bit, maybe stretch as much as they can given they are tightly wrapped into a racing seat, talk to the pits who often need to engage them so they stay alert. Every single lap. And when they pit? There is often a procedure practiced where the incoming driver basically pulls the outcoming driver out of the car because their bodies just get so tired.
Rolex is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a very special edition of their very special watch. The new 18k white gold Cosmograph Daytona has a Cerachrom bezel in black ceramic. On that bezel sits a red “100” to celebrate the centenary of the race. The familiar Oyster case has a transparent back, and is fitted with an Oyster bracelet. The use of a special movement, Calibre 4132, allows the chronograph function to indicate a full 24 hours, very appropriate for the race as well. And the subdials have a special design as well, inspired by a traditional Rolex dial.
That dial detail may seem a little familiar. The look got a lot of attention because of a watch worn by an actor that was a serious racecar driver as well. Paul Newman actually ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. While we often bemoan the hype that has made many previous “enthusiast-only” wristwatches hot financial commodities, there is no denying certain points. This world is full of challenges that combine history with cutting edge technology, personal human grit with mechanical exactness, passion, precision, and sheer determination.
Both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona are excellent examples of the excellence that comes from answering those challenges.
