From father to daughter, Amanda Mille’s love for racing is definitely in her genes.
Talking on the phone from Paris, Amanda Mille’s passion for cars is contagious as she tells me all about the Richard Mille Racing Team’s 100% female endurance racing crew. The three drivers – Beitske Visser, Sophia Flörsch, and Tatiana Calderón – are currently coming to the end of their second year of racing under the Richard Mille colors. Putting such a team together was no easy task, she explains. Finding a technical partner was the first challenge. “Once we met with Philippe (Philippe Sinault, director of Signatech Automobiles) we had the tools to start,” she shares, “but it wasn’t easy to find the LMP2 drivers either; not everyone can do this.”
After coming in the top-10 of the European Le Mans Series 2020, the female racing trio raised the bar even higher by joining the World Endurance Championship (WEC) season that competes in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and includes the legendary 24 Heures du Mans race. “Reactions from the predominantly male world of racing have always been politically correct,” says Mille, “but what was wonderful were all the lovely messages and comments the girls received on social media congratulating them after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They have worked so hard and that deserves respect.”
Throughout the season the drivers have been wearing a new sporty version of the RM 07-01 collection, a 50-piece limited edition that goes under the name of RM 07-01 Racing Red. Equipped with the brand’s automatic skeletonized caliber CRMA1, it is immediately recognizable thanks to a high-tech flame-red case in Carbon TPT® and Quartz TPT® made to match the team’s Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2 car fondly named “Roxy”. Carbon TPT® and Quartz TPT® are more commonly used for shock resistance in racing cars, making this limited edition even more special, while the curved shape ensures maximum comfort on the wrist while racing.
The trio has been wearing the timepiece throughout the competition, but it isn’t about being seen with the watch on the wrist, as Mille explains: “All Richard Mille partnerships are for the long term. We progress together; it is more than just wearing watches to be seen, as our partners give us feedback about shock resistance, comfort, and performance in extreme real-world situations. At the end of the day, fine watchmaking is at the heart of what we do.”
“Creating women’s watches was never a plan B for us. Our first in-house movement was unveiled in a women’s watch as was our first in-house automatic tourbillon”, she notes.
“Each Richard Mille timepiece is created to the limit of what’s possible in terms of R&D and quality. This has always been our vision, whether we are making timepieces for ladies or gentlemen; this is our way of working and I am very proud of that.”
An amateur racing driver herself, Mille was planning to compete in an endurance vintage rally before COVID hit, but she had to put it on hold due to family commitments and her work as Richard Mille’s Brand & Partner Director. But she never misses the brand’s other female racing project, the famous Princess Rally. “What I love about driving is that I can leave my phone behind and just enjoy my time behind the steering wheel”, she shares with a smile.
That is something we can all relate to, regardless of gender!
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