Mondani Editore Rolex and Automobile Sports

Mondani Editore Rolex and Automobile Sports:

The presence of Rolex in automobile sports dates back to the 1930s.

At that time the English driver Sir Malcolm Campbell, automobile racer and holder of multiple land speed records, was already wearing a Rolex Oyster. In September 1935, at the wheel of his race car Bluebird, he was the first person to exceed the mythical speed of 300 miles per hour, reaching over 301 mph (484 km/h). An extraordinary achievement for the times!

It was in the late 1950s that the real association between Rolex and automobile sports was born. In 1959, Rolex began its association with the Daytona International Speedway in Florida where the endurance race, 24 At Daytona, takes place. In 1992, the company became the Title Sponsor of the race, which had meanwhile become, along with Les 24 Heures du Mans, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world in its category. The Rolex 24 At Daytona is held yearly and is the only race of its kind in North America.

In the second half of the 1960s, this race inspired the creation of an equally exceptional watch, the Cosmograph Daytona. The watch, designed for lovers of speed, allows its wearer to clock elapsed times and calculate average speeds. Ever since then, the presence of the Rolex brand in automobile racing has grown steadily over the years.

Today, Rolex sponsors three types of competition. First of all, endurance races:

• the Rolex 24 At Daytona

• Les 24 Heures du Mans

• the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal, comprising several races that take place in the United States.

Rolex has been the Official Timekeeper of Les 24 Heures du Mans since 2001.

Secondly, historic car competitions:

• the Good wood Revivalin England,devoted to race cars built before 1966;

• the Rolex Monterey Motor sports Reunion,that brings together several hundred cars each year at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. Rolex has been the Title Sponsor of the event since 2001;

• Historic Sports car Racing,which is organized in the United States and is agathering of vintage cars restored to their original splendour. This competition includes various races held throughout the season.

Finally, Rolex is associated with events that celebrate the beauty of historic cars rather than their racing performance:

• ThePebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, launched in 1950 to present the most avant-garde models of the period and which today features the most striking of vintage cars. This competition, the most prestigious of its kind, takes place every year in Pebble Beach, California. Rolex has been its Official Timekeeper since 1997;
• the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex, created in 1997 to demonstrate the elegance of automobiles in movement. Rolex became the Title Sponsor of the event as of 2007;
• TheQuail,AMotorsportsGathering,whichfeatureslegendaryracecars.Rolex has been its Official Timekeeper since 2005.

Find more information about Malcolm Cambpell and the relationship between Rolex and cars in the book 100 Years of Rolex