1970-2010: TAG Heuer and Le Mans, 40 years of Mastering Speed
The nine Drivers & Dr Ullrich, head of Audi Sport, proudly celebrate their domination on the podium wearing their TAG Heuer chronographs and colours.
TAG Heuer has a long history with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, started 40 years ago. The 1970 movie “Le Mans" starred Steve McQueen in a Gulf-sponsored Porsche 917K, and made the TAG Heuer Monaco watch famous worldwide. In 1973, Heuer was official timekeeper and partner of Scuderia Ferrari with the famous Ferrari 312 PB sport prototypes.
In 2007 TAG Heuer was back to the 24 hours of Le Mans with Peugeot Sport and won the race in 2009 with Peugeot Sport car #9 and its drivers Marc Géné, Alexander Wurz and David Brabham.
As official partner and official timekeeper, TAG Heuer is providing Audi Sport drivers and management with hi-end chronographs (Carrera Day-Date & Grand Carrera) and sunglasses. On top of that, the Eyewear research & development team worked closely with Audi Sport drivers to develop Night-Vision glasses to test their products in the most demanding conditions – even personalizing products according to specific driver requests. These glasses provide improved, more comfortable night vision by correcting night myopia and prismatic deviation.
For the 1st time ever, the TAG Heuer Night Vision technology was used during the mythical Le Mans night by Dindo Capello!
“This is a fantastic way to celebrate our 150 years anniversary as well as the 40 years of the iconic Monaco timepiece, said Jean-Christophe Babin, TAG Heuer President & CEO. Audi Sport and its drivers worked really hard to be the most performing team in Le Mans, fitting with TAG Heuer vision of Avant-Garde and Innovation."
With this fabulous 1-2-3 realized by Audi, TAG Heuer achieved a 2nd victory in a row at Le Mans. During the same week-end, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button won Montreal Grand Prix and McLaren is still leading the Formula 1 championship. With its two partners, TAG Heuer proves once again its domination in motor sports.
The day before, on Friday, Lewis met Chad McQueen, Steve McQueen's son in Montreal. They spoke together about The Duel, the remake of Le Mans movie, a cinematic showdown between Chad's father and Lewis, created by TAG Heuer last year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Monaco chronograph. The film uses advanced special effects to pit the two TAG Heuer Ambassadors against each other in a virtual race on the storied track of Le Mans. From Le Mans to Montreal, TAG Heuer masters Speed.