Description
EVERY WATCH TELLS A STORY.
With a Hesketh Racing Chronograph, you own a slice of motorsport history
Independent, unconventional and somewhat partial to champagne fuelled soirees, Hesketh Racing were Formula One’s first rock’n’roll, glamour team. Off-track their shenanigans were legendary, but when they raced they were a team who punched way above their weight. The racing public loved them.
Scorned by the established teams who considered them a bunch of public schoolboy amateurs with no place in the sport, on June 22nd 1975 they silenced their critics and achieved what many thought would be impossible, they became Grand Prix winners.
“On top of every sand dune were just waves, waves and waves of Union Jacks. It was a wonderful feeling to know that those people, who had travelled with us all the way around Europe, finally saw the result they wanted.”
At RetroGP, we’ve been designing, manufacturing and retailing Hesketh Racing merchandise since 2009. We’re Hesketh Racing fans and our company only came into existence when the founder, Andrew Smith couldn’t find any Hesketh merchandising to buy at the 2009 British GP. You can understand then, how excited we were when we received an opportunity to create this new Hesketh Racing Chronograph timepiece.
There are few F1 cars that are rightly classified as ‘icons’. The Lotus 72, McLaren MP4/4 and Williams FW14 for example, are cars that dominated their respective eras. In comparison the Hesketh 308 designed by Harvey Postlethwaite won only once (not counting the non-championship victory), but for many reasons, people have a misty-eyed nostalgic attachment to Hunt’s chariot.
Maybe it’s because Hesketh Racing, were the last, true privateer outfit, and the Hesketh 308 was built in a stable. Maybe it’s because the little team from Towcester thumbed it’s nose at the establishment and had the audacity to take on the big boys of F1. Or maybe the 308 represents a time when things seemed a little simpler and underdogs still had a chance of winning. To this day, the 308 still brings a smile to the faces of race fans around the world whenever it takes to the track.
A lot of time, effort and love has been invested to ensure that everything about the Hesketh Chronograph is just right and offers our customers outstanding value for money. It’s all about the detailing. The wonderful dial is instantly recognisable as the Hesketh Racing livery and includes the famous Hesketh Bear. The Bear also appears on the back of the watch in the form of an etching with the team’s slogan ‘The biggest little race team in the world’. To finish off the branding, there’s a subtle ‘Hesketh’ etched into the strap buckle.