Rolex celebrates the motor sport

Rolex, the leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, will celebrate the culmination of a thrilling year of motor sport at the 2016 FIA Prize-Giving Ceremony in Vienna on Friday 02 December. Given Rolex’s passion for excellence, performance, and precision, Rolex naturally gravitates towards the world of motor sport and is proud to be a major force at play behind the sport’s finest events and drivers. 

2016 FIA PRIZE-GIVING CEREMONY 
The motor sport community will gather at the Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria to celebrate an exciting year of motor racing and to officially honour the champions from each FIA World Championship series for their exceptional contributions and successes in 2016. Rolex is proud to support the FIA’s prestigious event for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing the brand’s long-standing commitment to motor sport. As a Global Partner and the Official Timepiece of Formula 1®, Rolex will award a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona watch with a specially engraved case to the newly crowned 2016 FIA Formula One™ Drivers’ World Champion for his outstanding racing performance in 2016. 

2016 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™ 
The 2016 FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX marked the start of the longest season in the sport’s history featuring a record number of 21 Grands Prix. The MERCEDES AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team, now three-time FIA Formula One™ Constructors’ World Champions, won all but two races of the season and sealed their latest title at the 2016 FORMULA 1 EMIRATES JAPANESE GRAND PRIX in early October. However, it was not until the last race of the season that the FIA Formula One™ Drivers’ World Champion was decided, with Nico Rosberg securing his first-ever drivers’ crown at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton ensured the battle for the title was closely fought until the very end but ultimately Rosberg’s impressive driving in the second half of the season guaranteed him the 2016 crown, becoming the 33rd FIA Formula One™ Drivers’ World Champion in the illustrious history of Formula 1®. 

2016 FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP 
The 24 Hours of Le Mans remains the jewel in the crown of the FIA World Endurance Championship thanks to its unique heritage and the fact that it offers drivers double Championship points. The last two laps of the Rolex countdown clock at Circuit de la Sarthe this year were arguably the most memorable in recent history, with the #5 Toyota TS050 Hybrid unexpectedly stopping on the penultimate lap allowing rival, Neel Jani in the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid to pass and take the historic chequered flag. This famous victory for Neel Jani and his team-mates, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, along with their triumph at the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April and subsequent consistency throughout the season, gave them an unassailable lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Porsche trio were then able to seal the drivers’ title at the final race of the year in Bahrain. 

Arnaud Boetsch, Communication & Image Director of Rolex SA, said : « Rolex is proud to support the FIA and their annual Prize-Giving Ceremony; honouring teams, drivers and world champions for their outstanding achievements across the motor sport season. Rolex’s partnership with Formula 1, and with motor sport more widely, symbolizes the qualities of precision and performance required to compete at the highest level. This quest for excellence is reflected in Rolex’s values, as the brand continues to push the boundaries in technology and engineering.” 

Tom Kristensen, Rolex Testimonee, 2013 FIA World Endurance Champion and nine-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans said: “2016 has been an extraordinary year of motor sport. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we saw one of the most unforgettable finishes in the history of the sport – an event which sits at the pinnacle of motor sport in terms of speed, time, distance and endurance. I’m looking forward to some more great racing in 2017 across the world of motor sport.” 

As Rolex celebrates the crowning of these champions, the brand also turns its attention to the first motor sport event of 2017: the Rolex 24 at Daytona® on 28 – 29 January 2017 at the legendary Daytona International Speedway. Sir Jackie Stewart, Rolex Testimonee and three-time FIA Formula One™ Drivers’ World Champion, said: “I’m extremely proud to be working with Rolex for almost 50 years and continue to be impressed by the depth and breadth of Rolex’s commitment to motor sport. 2016 has been highly entertaining on track and I anticipate it will be even more exciting next year.” 

ROLEX AND MOTOR SPORT 
Rolex’s close ties with motor sport date back to Sir Malcolm Campbell’s World Land Speed Record successes in the 1930s, when he became the first driver to break the 300 mph barrier at the wheel of Bluebird. Since then, Rolex’s presence in motor racing has grown steadily, supporting iconic endurance races such as the Rolex 24 At Daytona® and the 24 Hours of Le Mans; iconic classic car events steeped in elegance, beauty and tradition, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and Goodwood Revival; the leading motor sport series, Formula 1®, and most recently, the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

ABOUT ROLEX 
Rolex, the leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, is headquartered in Geneva and enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as Superlative Chronometers for their precision, performance and reliability, are symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. Founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1905, the brand pioneered the development of the wristwatch and is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism invented in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces all the essential components of its watches in-house, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programmes. 

ABOUT FORMULA 1® 
Formula 1®, which began in 1950, is the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition and is the world’s most popular annual sporting series. In 2015 it was watched by over 400 million unique television viewers from over 200 territories. The 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship™ runs from March to November and spans 21 races in 21 countries across five continents. Formula One World Championship Limited is part of the Formula One group, founded by CEO Bernie Ecclestone, and holds the exclusive commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™. For more information on Formula 1® visit www.formula1.com.