• Partager

ZENITH OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER ON THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF CIRCUITS...

An undulating circuit scored through the heart of the Ardennes massif. Bends where every name calls to mind a hard-won battle. Steeped in history, a path to glory, a saga of epic victories. And then there's the weather, unpredictable and volatile…On the 16th, 17th and 18th of May, Zenith will be the official timekeeper of the Spa Classic.

Over the course of its first three years, the Spa Classic has become a complete event where motor sports, a love of classic vehicles and entertainment combine in a friendly atmosphere to create an exceptional occasion. Voted by drivers as one of the most beautiful circuits in the world, Spa-Francorchamps offers an undulating route scored through the heart of the Ardennes massif. Set at the crossroads of four countries (Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), the Spa Classic is attracting a growing number of spectators from across Europe. This 4th annual event will be a huge festival of classic vehicles with eight grids of vintage cars in competition: Classic Endurance Racing 1 & 2, Sixties’ Endurance, Trofeo Nastro Rosso, Group C, Historic Formula 2 and two grids of touring cars – Heritage Touring Cup and Historic Motor Racing News U2TC, which get to enjoy a night race on Saturday evening, reviving the classic era of the Spa 24 Hours.

Amongst the weekend's unmissable events is an auction held by the world-famous auction house, Bonhams, an exhibition featuring a huge number of club cars assembled for this occasion … not to mention the Exhibitor's Village which brings together the best of Automobilia, artists and other booksellers. Something to delight every kind of enthusiast, across the generations.

AS OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER OF SPINDRIFT RACING, ZENITH CONGRATULATES LADYCAT FOR ITS RESULTS AT THE FIRST LES AMBASSADEURS GRAND PRIX OF THE SEASON

Two victories in 13 rounds took Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing to a second place in the GP Les Ambassadeurs, the first round of the D35 Championship, at the Société Nautique de Genève on Lake Geneva this weekend.

The heavyweights of the circuit were all back in force champing at the bit for the first event and testing winds also greeted Yann Guichard, the skipper of the Ladycat. The final analysis was very positive, with Ladycat finishing just three points behind the winner Alinghi and one point ahead of Mobimo overall.

On Friday, the D35 fleet had five races in a rather capricious wind of between 7 and 10 knots. After a good first day of competition for Ladycat, they were first in the overall rankings. “We had a great first day, we drove really hard and found some really good speed, especially upwind," François Morvan, the tactician on board Ladycat, said. On Saturday, the wind picked up to between 15 and 18 knots, which allowed the race committee to schedule six races. But that did not spread out the field on Lake Geneva, in fact the top four (Alinghi, Ladycat, Mobimo and Realstone) were still tightly bunched.

The podium was only decided today, on Sunday May 11. After two races in strong, gusty wind blowing between 8 and 23 knots, Ladycat held onto second place on the podium. It was a very positive warm-up for the whole Ladycat and Spindrift racing team. "The first day was great and the following days the wind was more unstable in intensity and we had a little more difficulty in manoeuvring,” Guichard said. “But that is normal, because although we have lots of experience individually, we are a new team and we have to keep working together on our manoeuvres and coordination. We only had six days of training and none in any breeze and if you want to be in the mix you have to do all your manoeuvres perfectly. The level has gone up again and you could see that there were four standout teams straightaway at the first grand prix. I really enjoyed helming and it's so encouraging to start with a podium, but we are going to have to keep pushing to stay amongst the leaders in the next regattas."
Speaking on behalf of Zenith, Official Timekeeper of the Spindrift racing team, Juliette North, Marketing and Business Development Director, saluted "the teamwork and the excellent results which point to a magnificent season that will come to an exciting close with the Route du Rhum solo race," before adding: "We congratulate Spindrift racing and its sailors who inspire us by their accomplishments and enable us to experience some truly thrilling moments."

Conditions on the lake made for a great battle on the lake for the 11 one-designs who keep raising the level of competition every year. The next round will be the Open de Crans on May 24 and 25.

Original language: English