At the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with Baume & Mercier

After the successful MitJet’s Italian visit to Monza, we decided to give it another go and went back, as Baume et Mercier‘s partner, to try another racing circuit; the Franciacorta‘s circuit, which is much more tortuous than Monza‘s, but equally as fascinating. Here, the same Giudici team that you met in Monza already, was involved in a race of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series championship, where it is one of the official participants.

You have heard that properly; NASCAR (the acronym of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) is one of the world’s most famous “stars and stripes” championships that has been exported to Europe, because races do not rhyme with Formula One, GP2 and GP3 only, but they are also a mixture of experiences on both sides of the Atlantic that have created such a riptide slowly linking together two different engine cultures, thus giving us the opportunity to feed our motoring passion with an offer that would have been unthinkable of only ten years ago.

The Euro Series came under the NASCAR umbrella in 2012, all cars are equipped with a Chevrolet 8-cylinder 450-horsepower engine, a 4-speed clutch and they weigh a total of 1,150 kilos. A tribute to stock car racing on American circuits. Compared to the MitJet, we are talking about quite different powers and the triumph of the American 8-cylinder torque over the lightness and agility of the vehicles designed for the MitJet championship.

All cars, just like in the MitJet, share the same mechanics with the only difference of featuring a car body that copies the aesthetics of well-known cars from overseas, such as the Chevrolet SS, the Toyota Camry or the Mustang. The latter represents, in its latest edition, a world car and is therefore also present in Europe.

The NASCAR car of the Giudici team is a “Mustang”, just like the one that races in the MitJet, and the driver is Claudio, the son of patron Gianni Giudici, who we filmed during the previous event and during the Franciacorta race – inside and outside the paddock.

The only difference (or possible a plus side) in this Franciacorta event is that, for the first time, one of the ambassadors of the Swiss brand also took part in it; we are talking about the young Luca Dotto (from the Italian national swimming team). He is the ambassador of the Clifton Club, the most versatile collection by Baume & Mercier which now goes together with the world of engines and with that of all those sports, where action and team spirit are key ingredients.

This is a formula that, motor-wise speaking, will shortly move (actually widen) from the four wheels to two wheels, considering the agreement that Alain Zimmermann, CEO of the brand, recently signed with the oldest American motorcycle brand that Anthony Hopkins lionized on the big screen; Indian Motorcycles.

It is a matter of days because the first collection, the result of this partnership, is expected in early November and we will attend, together with a small group of press representatives, the Milan event, where the CEO will present the first outcome of this project.

Going back to the Franciacorta event, it was great to meet Luca and to see with our very own eyes his interest for the world of engines: he spent much of his time in the box exchanging views with Claudio, he sat in the driving seat of his Mustang and it was as if he had been kidnapped by this weekend  in the company of engines.

I would not be surprised if one day, after completing his competitive career, he will step into this world; a  place with an incredible appeal for all athletes. He would not be the first to do so.

From the point of view of the product, we can say that the first year of the Clifton Club as a collection has virtually closed. It seems to me that the image of Baume & Mercier is going through a renewal process and it is further expanding the potential base of its customers by turning to young sportsmen; something that is quite clear from the choice of its brand ambassadors.

In addition, with the Clifton Club, Baume & Mercier has created original partnerships that introduced championships and series to a larger base of fans (I am referring to the MitJet and the NASCAR; two events that used to be completely unknown to the general audience).

If you want to know what the next chapter of this adventure is going to be, make sure to connect to our Instagram channel on November 6^th at 7pm and you will find out it live.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Gaetano C @Horbiter®