Chopard Becomes Official Timing Partner of Porsche MotorsportChopard, already a longtime sponsor of the prestigious Mille Miglia race and official timekeeper of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, this year strengthens its ties to auto racing by becoming the official timing partner of Porsche Motorsport, which makes its long-awaited return at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
Absent from the international racing stage for 16 years, since its 16th victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche Motorsport Team makes its grand comeback to competition in this year’s LMP1 Endurance World Championship with a brand-new vehicle, the Posrche 919 Hybrid. Unveiled at last week’s International Motor Show in Geneva, the Porsche 919 Hybrid features Chopard branding on its side mirrors and spoiler. It will participate in all eight legs of the 2014 racing calendar, with the first round scheduled for April 10th at Silverstone. In addition to the Porsche LMP1 cars, Chopard is also partnering with the Porsche Manthey team, which will line up for the GTE event in the same Endurance World Championship.
Chopard’s connection to Porsche and its motor racing history is rooted in the passion of Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, a collector of vintage racing cars and sometime participant in the famous Mille Miglia race, at the wheel of a Porsche 550 Spyder. In his Mille Miglia races, Scheufele has partnered with longtime Chopard “ambassador,” Jacky Ickx, who earned his nickname “Mr. Le Mans” by winning six victories at the famous race, four of them while driving a Porsche.
“Porsche stands for passion and performance — values we can identify with,” states Scheufele. “We are proud to be part of their return to Le Mans.”
l-r: Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, racing legend Jacky Ickx and Porsche Museum director Klaus Bischof
F1 Driver Marc Webber, wearing a Chopard Superfast Power Control, with the new Porsche 919 Hybrid
Scheufele with the Porsche 919 Hybrid
Chopard’s new partnership with Porsche Motorsport has also put a spotlight on the brand’s Superfast collection of timepieces, such as the Superfast Power Control (watch and movement pictured below), which are heavily influenced by the design codes of the motor-racing world and represent, according to Chopard, “a test bench to push out boundaries and implement new technologies.”
