STYLE Edit: How Richard Mille is empowering women in motorsport at historic endurance races Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona
- Richard Mille has long supported motorsports, including fostering partnerships with Formula One legends Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
- In 2021 the luxury watchmaker is taking the all-female Richard Mille Racing Team to Le Mans and sponsoring Team Hardpoint EBM at America’s IMSA championships
For luxury watchmaker Richard Mille, which proudly declares its turbocharged technical timepieces to be “racing machines on the wrist”, the world of automotive racing is one with which it has a natural affinity.
More recently, however, the brand has also turned its sights onto five young female drivers, all of whom the brand has brought into the Richard Mille racing family.
The trio of Tatiana Calderón, Beitske Visser and Sophia Flörsch make up the Richard Mille Racing Team, while Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen will be joining Team Hardpoint EBM.
The Richard Mille Racing Team was created to promote the best female racing talent at the highest level of motorsport racing. Last year, the team had a strong showing that earned them a top-10 spot at the European Le Mans Series – in its rookie season, no less. This year, the team is looking to better their performance, hitting the track for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
While the team may be young, they are no slouches. Calderón, 27, is the Alfa Romeo F1 test driver and races in the ultra-competitive Japanese Super Formula Championship, while 20-year-old Flörsch has also built a solid racing reputation of her own. Finally, 25-year-old Visser is a GT race winner and placed second in the women-only W Series. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with. Plus, their racing partner – a state-of-the-art Oreca 07 car powered by a Gibson engine – stands them in good stead.
