Watches When precision counts

Ayrton Senna da Silva, a son of São Paulo, was born on 21 March 1960. The driver’s legendary status meant anything more than the name ‘Senna’ was superfluous. His nomen has since been immortalised with the iconic Senna logo, an emblem that’s now familiar to legions of motorsport fans. Senna is widely considered one of the greatest drivers of the 20th century and his genius will never be forgotten. His tally of achievements remains impressive and includes three world championships (1988, 1990 and 1991). 

Despite his untimely death, some 30 years ago, thoughts of the famous racing driver have never assumed a sepia-hued tint. On the contrary, for many admirers of motorsport, Senna’s historical victories, 41 in total, remain vivid multicoloured recollections, permanently etched to memory.

Unlike some of his contemporaries, Senna was incredibly disciplined. He placed much importance on his physical and mental fitness, honing his body like a track and field competitor. Indeed, his sinewy torso, like the aerodynamic cars he drove, was optimised for performance. His racecraft was incomparable, especially in the wet, a fact that was evident with his many ascents to the top step of the podium where he quenched his thirst with a well-earned gulp of ‘Moët’.

He could masterfully thread a car through a series of bends, identifying the optimum racing line and constantly appraising the available grip through the tips of his fingers and his sweat-soaked racing seat. He had an uncanny knack of sensing the degradation of his tyres and knowing when to make an essential pit stop. 

Of all the circuits he negotiated with unparalleled aplomb, Monaco will forever be his track; a competitive arena he made his own, again and again. Driven on public roads, there is no race quite like the Monaco Grand Prix. The street circuit threads its way through narrow streets fringed with hostile kerbs and few so-called ‘run off areas’. Moreover, the limits of the track are delineated with foreboding Armco barriers. The most accomplished drivers will gently kiss this corrugated steel, often leaving a small trace of rubber as they seek to ‘straight line the bends’, all in the pursuit of a ‘couple of tenths’. Sadly, for those drivers whose ambitions exceed their abilities, the Armco barriers have been known to quash dreams of glory. 

Against this backdrop, Senna scored 6 victories, 8 podiums and 5 pole positions in the 10 grands prix he entered; a remarkable success rate that led to his famous soubriquet, ‘King of Monaco’. Senna’s record of 6 wins has so far never been surpassed. 

In the world of motorsport, there is an unwavering quest to mitigate weight. While the current racing regulation state, ‘The mass of the car, without fuel, must not be less than 798 Kg’, teams will still seek to reduce overall mass before adding ballast to optimal areas, fine-tuning the car’s centre of gravity. It is for this reason that race cars eschew unnecessary material but with due consideration to essential stiffness and safety.

The dial of the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport x Senna is clearly inspired by the openworked elements found on a race car. The skeletonized dial features an intricate beam structure that confers strength while simultaneously revealing glimpses of the Swiss movement. 

Upholding Carrera-tradition, this new model is a paragon of readability. The rhodium-plated, baton-style hour and minute hands, once again partially skeletonized, are lined with white Super-LumiNova®. They also feature facets that readily engage with light, thereby aiding legibility. The indexes, sitting atop a black flange, replicate this facetted style. 

The two counter design includes a 30-minute chronograph register at 3 o’clock and a 12-hour chronograph register positioned opposite at 9 o’clock. Each counter is openworked at its centre, incorporates blue azurage and is framed with a rhodium-plated circlet, again punctuated with succinct markings. Yellow, skeletonized hands impart meaning, a colour that is repeated with the Senna logo gracing the counter at 9 o’clock. Furthermore, TAG Heuer has also enriched the dial with an eye-catching arrangement of colours, including blue and green as well as said yellow hues, a nod to the colours found on Senna’s race helmet. 

At the base of the dial, an aperture reveals the tourbillon. But what exactly is a tourbillon? Back in the 18th century, a watchmaker recognised that gravity would have an undue influence on the escapement and regulating organ, adversely affecting the rate. His solution was to place these components in a revolving cage that rotated 360° every 60, 240 or 360 seconds. As the cage rotated it ameliorated gravitational influences on the rate. Termed a ‘tourbillon’, the mechanism was patented in 1801.

While the tourbillon is a device that aids chronometric performance, it is also highly prized by watch aficionados for the animated dance it performs centre stage. Indeed, purists often enjoy the sight of seeing the pallet lever kiss the escape wheel, the balance spring pulse with life, the balance wheel rotate back and forth and the cage perform a seemingly everlasting pirouette. When it comes to horological theatre, few complications surpass the tourbillon. 

The case of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport x Senna affords sufficient room for all dial indications to breathe, augmenting legibility. The watch is housed in a Grade 2 titanium case, a metal that has a low mass, is not liable to corrosion and is non-magnetic; all useful attributes for a watch. This lightweight metal is also a go-to material in the race paddock because of its notable strength, hence it is a fitting choice for a model that pays tribute to the motorsport legend.

The use of cutting-edge, racing-inspired materials extends to the forged carbon bezel. Once again, light and strong, it is adorned with the Senna logo and features a tachymeter scale, a useful tool for calculating the speed of an object over a known distance.

TAG Heuer has chosen to execute the pushers and crown in Grade 5 titanium, an alloy that can be polished to a high-gleam, as in this instance. The crown is bisected with a neat, green lacquered circlet. This serves as just one of many examples of nuanced detail that can be found on the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport x Senna.

When describing the styling of the watch housing, the brand headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, talks of an ‘architectural case profile’, alluding to its intricate fusion of lines and curves. For example, the flanks of the case, between the tip of the lugs and the pushers, are recessed and executed in a brooding shade of black while other sections incorporate lines that appear to strake the model’s torso as if to achieve some aerodynamic advantage.

To the rear of the watch, a sapphire caseback affords sight of the self-winding Calibre TH20-09 movement. A certified-chronometer (COSC), the movement features a column-wheel and vertical coupling, a pairing that delivers smooth pushpiece actuation and stutter-free starts. 

The caseback is adorned with a depiction of the great man’s eyes and the Senna logo. A blue rubber strap paired with a Grade 2 titanium folding clasp rounds out this octane-rich composition.

The name ‘Senna’ lives on with the unwavering efforts of his family and the Ayrton Senna Institute that supports various educational programmes. The racing legend’s legacy is justly revered and is something TAG Heuer has respected ever since the driver became a brand ambassador in 1988. This esteem is manifest with this latest model to sport the Senna logo, the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport x Senna. It’s a watch that takes this longstanding relationship to new heights, albeit given its limited availability, only the first 500 purchasers across the line will discover its charms first-hand. 

Discover more articles by Angus Davis on escapementmagazine.com.