Nürburing 24 hours RaceJaeger-LeCoultre on the starting grid with Aston Martin
Jaeger-LeCoultre, in partnership with Aston Martin, will return to the starting grid of the legendary Nordschleife circuit for the fifth consecutive year at the 38th ADAC Nürburgring 24-hours race on May 15/16 2010 with Aston Martin’s new four-door sports car; the Rapide. The car will compete in the demanding 24-hours race - as has been the case with other recent Aston Martin road cars, the V8 Vantage and V12 Vantage. The Rapide will compete in near-standard specification apart from mandatory changes required to compete in this most demanding of endurance races and will be driven by a team of engineers from the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, England.
Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez who will lead the Rapide driver team, explained: “The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars. We already have a proven track record at the Nürburgring racing our road cars with limited modification and in recent years we have enjoyed success in winning the SP8 class both in 2008 and 2009.”
Pictured on the car itself, the AMVOX2 Transponder Rapide is the chronograph that will offer future owners of the latest Aston Martin the privilege of locking or unlocking their car by simply pressing on the sapphire watch crystal. Heralding the second generation of the revolutionary creation that sealed the ties between Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin, this mechanical watch is the only one unleashing the Aston Martin cars, while maintaining the key functions of the famous vertical-trigger mechanism equipping the pushpiece-free chronograph.
The Rapide race car will be joined by a V12 Vantage – again modified only slightly for racing – which in 2009 swept to a class win on its competitive race debut.