It is one of the least known of all automobile races and yet the most demanding. The Pike’s Peak rally in Colorado has brought together the craziest machines for the past 97 years. For his first participation involving hurtling along the 20km route with its 156 bends and a steep gradient involving a 1440-metre altitude change, Sébastien Loeb broke the previous record by more than 1’30’’ seconds (from a total of 8’13”). At the wheel of his his 875hp Peugeot 208 T16 and with a Richard Mille on his wrist, the Frenchman clearly showed that the track is his natural environment. There is another champion who rules supreme on dirt, albeit of a nobler sort than a mountain road. As was logically expected, Rafael Nadal won Roland Garros… for the eighth time. And the Marjorcan did not stop at a clay surface because he also won the US Open, although the surface there is not his strong point. A few weeks earlier, Andy Murray won on the grass at Wimbledon, thus paving the way for Rado’s return to favour on the court. The Swatch Group brand had given up on what for years was its former playground, prior to making a comeback in 2012 by sponsoring the Scottish player.

 

Not-so-green grass

Let’s stay with grass, because summer is the ultimate golf season and three of the four most important tournaments take place between June and September. But on the brand ambassador front not much happened. Indeed, although Phil Mickelson won the British Open under the Rolex banner, the US Open and the USPGA were won by players not sponsored by watchmakers. Justin Rose and Jason Dufner both surged from the rankings with a brilliant win of their first major this year. Nonetheless, being too little known and with too little exposure to date, they had not yet managed to attract the attention of the brands associated with the little white ball.

This is a shame because the big Swiss brands’ champion ambassadors did not shine quite as much as they did in 2012. In the autumn, Omega played on grass with its traditional Crans Montana Golf Open and on the water in San Francisco with Team New Zealand in the 34^th America’s Cup, timed by Louis Vuitton. Omega’s Kiwi Challenger finally had to admit defeat at the hands of TAG Heuer’s American Defender (See Story article on page 68).

 

All in the legs

The Tour de France continues to be dogged by an atmosphere of suspicion and scandal. This is Festina’s closely guarded preserve and has earned it  considerable fame, but the major brands continue to be wary of the event.  The media audience of the “Grande Boucle” is enormous, however, and represents a far less low-tier market than one might think. Nonetheless, the fear that their champion or his team might be stripped of the title following an anti-doping check prevails over other considerations. While the mishaps of several members of the Jamaican athletics team demonstrate that even the mightiest can fall, a huge exception has once again demonstrated his supremely winning ways.  At the Moscow Athletics World championships, Usain Bolt triumphed in all three races in which he competed. The Hublot-sponsored champion won the gold medal in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4 x 100 metre relays, as ever with a big grin on his face. Having said this, neither a buoyant attitude nor victories as such are enough to make it onto a watchmaking team. Serena Williams, who once again won the French Open and the US Open, has never had a sponsored wrist in all of the 14 years since her first victory at Flushing Meadows. The ball is in the brands’ court.

 

Rafael Nadal, fully recovered from his injury, carries off Roland Garros and the US Open with his Richard Mille on his wrist.

 

At his first attempt, Sébastien Loeb blew the competition off the track at Pike’s Peak, the world’s toughest rally.

 

Phil Mickelson, a Rolex Cellini on his wrist, was the only winner of a major this summer to be sponsored by a watch brand.

 

Usain Bolt, a member of Team Hublot, leaves the World Athletics Championships with three easily acquired gold medals.