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amanico
[JLC Moderator]
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24 Hours Le Mans Race... It is all about Friendship, watches, and cars.

We were some " happy few " to be invited for an extraodinary week end, which coincided with the Legendary Car Race, and with the presentation of a very nice version of the yet well known Chronograph Amvox II,the Amvox Racing.

It was also the opportunity ( and this is not the less important ) to gather with some friends, and to meet some new one.

So, Friends, Watches, and Cars, this is all we love here!

1/ The Decorum:

A Moderator's Life may be very hard, from time to time, as you will be able to judge...



Here is the Hotel where we gathered, just a day before the Race, our Meeting Point:



Located at around 70 kilometers from the Le Mans Circuit, we were hosted in this old and gorgeous castel.

A warm swimming pool, some nice Palm Trees, a golf located very close to the hotel, yes, Life can be very hard!



2/ The Friends:

An impressing gathering , where people living everywhere in the world can meet a spend great moments together, sharing emotions and fun for the first time, or once again, with old friends.

A Dream Casting:

POY, Jerome, Stefan Ciejka, Alexander, and the whole JLC Team are old and very good friends.

Some were only virtual, and now are real friends, like Juan Carlos, Sonia, Diego ( aka " Mano de Dios... ), Barbara, Franck, and ..;last but not least.. Jaw!





You will meet them everywhere in this post, and will see that we had ...a Blast.

3/ Meeting the Aston Martin Team:

The night before the race, we were invited for a giant Barbecue by the Aston Martin Team.

And were warmly welcomed.

Dr Ulrich BEZ, Aston Martin CEO, in intense conversation :





The complete Aston Martin Drivers Team:



The ambiance was very festive, and the drinks and food came feeding our madness:

Here, Jerome drinking a big glass of water...





Here, a new friend, Sonia ( aka La Venenosa ... ), drinking water, too:



I have to confess that this water has something special, really...

Another great amateur of this special water, Juan Carlos:



Being a Purist offers some great advantages.

Here, dancing with Sonia ( JLC Team ):



There, with Magali:



Damn, this is the same Purist who is always dancing, while the others are...working hard!



Then, Jerome Lambert arrived, which is easily noticeable...

A small detail:



Back to the castle, late in the night, we spend the morning with a complete presentation of the existing links between Aston Martin and Jaeger- Lecoultre, with their Babies, the Amvox Watches.

We do not forget that this partnership is now 5 Years Old.

The JLC and Aston Martin Teams (Jerome Lambert, David King, Magali Metrailler , and Sally ) explained to the attenders what are these common rules shared by the 2 brands, their love and admiration for each other, speaking of watches and cars, and giving some great informations about the " Le Mans Circuit ".

Did you notice that between cars and watches, the links are really important?







4/ Under the charm of the new Amvox II Racing:

During this meeting, we had the pleasure to see the new Amvox II Racing.

This Amvox II Racing is aesthetically closer to the new Amvox II Chrono DBS than the original Amvox II presented 3 years ago.

The original Amvox II:



The Amvox II Chrono DBS in SS:



And now, the new: " Racing " :

- Black dial and PVD Titanium Case:



- White dial and Polished titanium case:



Obviously, we have here the Racing version of the lastest Amvox II Chrono DBS.

It shares the same circular counters, the same layout of the dial, the same " arrow " hour hand ( instead of the " arrow " which was at the end of the minute hand on the first model ).

The differences are about the " racing " finish of the dial: Orange Chrono second hand, black carbon fiber counters of the Chronograph, orange 5 minutes dots and Chrono Caliper, and, of course for the Non PVD version, the white dial.

Let's have a more detailed look on each of them:

- The white dial version:

When I saw it, it made me immediately think about a Dayto Paul Newman, because of the choice of the colors, for the dial.

Orange, black, and white are colors which work quite well together, linking this combination with the world of Racing cars.

Therefore, which is surprising, and appealing at the same time, is that this Vintage Chromatic choice associated to the very modern look of the last Amvox II generation.







To compare with the First Amvox II...To fully appreciate the different personality of these 2 watches.



- The Black Dial:

The Game, here, is a bit different.

You win in Depth what you loose in contrast, as the dial is all black.

The small orange touches enhance the depth of the dial, maybe a bit more than on the White dialed version.

But the Racing look, dynamic and elegant, is still here!

You will also notice the nice visual effect of the 2 Carbon Fiber counters.





The Case Back: ( Please note that the watches we saw are protos, and that the case back is not the one you'll see on the definitive watches, hence the wrong XXX / 500, for instance ).



The Titanium PVD case is te cherry on the cake, on this version.

With the black dial, it works very nicely, in my opinion.

In both versions, you have some nice details on the Minute Counter:

A Race Flag, and the writing: " 1959 - 2009 ", to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1st Aston Martin Victory at Le Mans Race.

What do you think?

Which one is your favourite?

To say all, I was a bit worried to see another version of the Amvox II, which is one of my favourite Chrono, but I'm not deceived at all.

I even think about adding the Racing model to my original Amvox II, because of their different personality!

Here, 2 Comparative pics:





These 2 Racing Amvoxes will be available in a Limited Edition of 100 pieces ( for each color ).

5/ Time to go to the Race.



A great surprise was waiting for us, at the Hotel.

While we tought we had to take the bus to go to the circuit, we, in fact took another way of locomotion...



YES!!!

A lot of fun with good friends...Another great moment during this crazy week end!





And guess what Purist friends do during the trip?







The sight was awesome.



Approaching " Le Mans Circuit "...I never saw it this way!





6/ The Race:

As always at Le Mans, things are spectacular:

The sound of the motors is maybe what amazes me the more.

There is a big difference between the Diesel, which are very silent, and the non diesel cars, which make a spectacular noise...No, at this moment, I would better say " Sound ".

Noise is sounding a bit negative, while in this case, this is pleasure, and a big one.

The visual part of the show is also very particular, when you see true " Battles " on the road, at some crazy speeds.





Life at the Paddock is also captivating...You feel the tension, the concentration, everybody is, as the Pilot, involved in the challenge of the race:

Preparing the arrival of the car:



The car is here!:



Some tyres for your car?





Now, a funny and strange detail I noticed during the race...A ... Radar!



This bolid is OK:



But this one is in Speed Excess:



The pilot lost his Driving License and had to finish the race with another kind of car...

Does this Pilot look familar to you?





Another amazing thing at Le Mans is the very particular, friendly and exciting ambiance everywhere, and I have to say that our British Friends contribute a lot for making it so special.

I never saw such a concentration of Marvellous British Cars, like Lotus, Jaguar, Aston Martin, TVR, Catheram, and so on.

This is just a Dream which came true!

People everywhere, but also cars, and some of the nicest, obviously.

I made a small selection of my absolute favourite:

- The Legendary Aston Martin which won the Le Mans Race 50 years ago.



- Two Legends to come, certainly:





As I said before, watches are never too far from cars, and here again, I saw an impressive gathering of Amvoxes.









The Lola Aston Martin Team ended the race at an excellent 4th place, in fact the first place for a non Diesel race car ( behind the 2 Peugeot and the Audi Diesel ).

Seems that it is impossible to beat the Diesel, the differences being too huge.

I hope you had pleasure to view and share this great moment of pleasure, of madness with me.

I want to warmly thank our hosts, Jaeger - Lecoultre and Aston Martin for their friendly welcome.

It was, indeed, an unforgettable moment, full of intense emotions, enhanced y the presence of great friends.

Cheers to all!



Nicolas This message has been edited by amanico on 2009-06-15 00:35:18 This message has been edited by amanico on 2009-06-19 07:53:49

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