Earlier this month, the AF Corsa number 83 car claimed overall victory at the 93rd running of the 24 Hour of Le Mans in northern France. This would be the third consecutive win of the race by the Ferrari 499P, although this is the first by a Ferrari customer team, and not by one of the two factory entries (the #50 and #51 cars). The race is the jewel of the World Endurance Championship season, but it’s not the final draw for the Circuit de la Sarthe this summer. The 12th edition of Le Mans Classic is set to run from July 3 through 6, and will see over 700 historic race cars take the track in a celebration of Le Mans history. Richard Mille has been a principal sponsor of the event since 2002, and this year, the brand is releasing a new RM 30-01 LMC to mark their involvement.
Richard Mille has established themselves in the racing world at the highest levels, but it’s a road that began over 20 years ago with Felipe Massa. You can hear James Stacey and I recount more of this history in ep. 60 of the podcast right here. Not only are they a partner of Ferrari racing, appearing on their F1 and endurance racing machines, but they also have a relationship with the McLaren F1 team, meaning the brand graces not only the most successful cars in WEC, but also in Formula 1. It’s an enviable position. That said, they’ve also remained committed to events such as the Le Mans Classic, which preserve the history of the sport for new generations of enthusiasts to discover. It’s a move that deepens the meaning of their higher profile partnerships.
The newest RM 30-01 is clad in dark green and white, a nod to the event’s colors, and a distinctive base for the accenting oranges and bright greens. The color stretches to the midcase, which is made from Green Quartz TPT sandwiched between a pair of titanium plates. Even the vented rubber strap gets in on the green action. Inside sits the brand’s caliber RMAR2 modified to include a 24 hour display in a sub dial at two o’clock. That circular display allows the wearer to track the progress of the race from its starting time of 16:00, which is marked in green on the display.
The dial of this RM 30-01 has plenty to decipher, and if I’m being perfectly honest, legibility suffers as a result. Perhaps that’s not the point of this watch, preferring instead to lean into the drama of the architecture at work within. Still, a solid pair of hands would have gone a long way here. A tracked power reserve snakes around the upper portion of the dial, while a date aperture is set at four o’clock, framed by a checkered flag motif, which pushes things over the top, and feels slightly on the nose. All of this is set within the skeletonized framework of the movement. Rather than pulling the crown out to different positions, this watch uses a pusher at two o’clock to cycle through the available modes.
As a whole, this is a watch that sticks closely to the Richard Mille DNA. In that sense, it still feels unique and special, like all of their watches, but it’s unlikely to win over any fence sitters. What I love about this project is the attention it places on the Le Mans Classic event, and the brand’s commitment to its preservation. Le Mans has a rich history across many eras dating back to the 1920s, each with their own special machines that defined the racing. This event offers a venue for many of these cars to take to the track once more, and capture the hearts and minds of a new generation. Richard Mille
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