CHOPARD AND PORSCHE MOTORSPORT : A UNITED RACING TEAM TO TAKE THE ROAD OF SUCCESS

Circuit of the America – Austin Texas – September, 17^th 2016

After their recent outstanding victories at Le Mans 2016, Nürburgring and in Mexico, the Porsche Motorsport LMP1 teams came to the USA aiming to excel again in front of the American passionate racing fans at the Six Hours of COTA 2016. By taking the season’s fifth win, Porsche Motorsport team has extended its lead in the manufacturers’ standings of the FIA World Endurance Championship. At the sixth out of nine championship rounds, held in Austin, Texas, the reigning world champions, Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber achieved their third victory in a row in tropical weather conditions. Perfectly in line with the performance targets of Porsche Motorsport, Chopard, official timing partner, presented for the first time in the USA its new Superfast timepiece, the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Black Edition chronograph, produced in a 100-piece limited serie.

Porsche Team: Timo Bernhard

 After a thrilling battle between Porsche and Audi, the two Porsche 919 Hybrid crossed the finish line in first and fourth place despite a significant lead of Audi during the first part of the race. The reigning world champion team of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber won the six-hour race of Austin in front of thousands of Texan racing aficionados. When the race got underway at 5pm local time, ambient temperatures were over 35 degree Celsius and tested the drivers and mechanics to the limit. The cooler it became after sunset, the stronger the Porsche 919 Hybrid became. Thanks to a well-managed pit stop strategy, the winning trio took the lead just after mid distance. By winning the sixth out of nine races in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the 919 Hybrid, Porsche further extended its lead in the manufacturers’ standings. The second Porsche Motorsport team composed of the trio, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, came fourth. They continue to lead in the drivers’ world championship by 37.5 points.

This is the fifth victory this season for the Porsche 919 Hybrid, after the victories at Silverstone, the Nürburgring, Le Mans and Mexico. In total, the prototype has won twelve races since its 2014 debut. It’s the seventh success for Bernhard, Hartley and Webber in WEC since the return of Porsche. Porsche is clearly leader of the WEC manufacturer’s championship with 238 points ahead of Audi (185) and Toyota (137).

Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team: Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, Mark Webber

Chopard’s ambassador Mark Webber commented: “It was tough racing with fair battles today and Timo’s and Brendon’s drives were awesome. After the start we got into a rhythm. In the middle of the race the situation looked stable. The Audis in front were extremely quick in the heat. We knew we had to do a clean race and if they had stayed that strong we would have pushed them over the line. Despite the heat, our team in the garage did a great job again in the pit stops.”

Brendon Hartley also said: “For us the race went very smoothly. It was clear to us that Audi would have an advantage in the high temperatures at the start, but we were hoping the race would come back to us and it did. After dark the competition with Audi was much more even. We got the strategy with the Full Course Yellow absolutely right. ”

Superfast Chronograph: a unique timepiece concentrating timing, precision and performance.

 For the third year in a row, Chopard is the Official Timing Partner of Porsche Motorsport. Perfectly in line with the mindset of the Superfast watch collection, this prestigious partnership is an extension of Chopard’s enduring passion to automotive sports. In 2014, for the grand comeback of the German team to endurance racing, Chopard partnered Porsche Motorsport and became the “official timing partner “ of the team. At Le Mans 2014, in honour of this exclusive partnership, Chopard crafted a Superfast chronograph inspired by the Porsche 919 Hybrid competing in the World Endurance Championship LMP1 category: the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Edition watch.

This year, at Le Mans, Chopard unveiled a new watch, the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Black Edition, a 100-piece limited serie. Exclusively available in Chopard boutiques, this model proudly flies high the banner of the new Porsche prototype 2016 by picking up its aesthetic codes and colours. The imposing 45 mm-diameter case is made in titanium – a material often used in the world of endurance racing for its ultra-light properties. This unique bodywork is bead-blasted, blackened by a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) treatment ensuring an extremely scratch-resistant coating, and is water-resistant to 100 metres. Like a racing car equipped with the finest machinery, the case of the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Black Edition with its sleek, sporty lines houses a ‘motor’ built for ultimate performances combining cutting-edge technologies and respect for the art of watchmaking: Chopard Calibre 03.05-M. Designed like an authentic engine, entirely produced and assembled in Chopard’s Fleurier Ebauches workshops, this mechanical self-winding chronograph movement delivers a substantial 60-hour power reserve and features a flyback function.

The FIA World Endurance Championship will continue on October 16^th 2016 for the 6 Hours of Fuji in the land of the rising sun.

Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team: Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, Mark Webber