Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronograph, Owner'S Handbook Manual

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Since motor racing started in France in the 1890s and the first named Grand Prix was held in Pau
back in 1906, motor racing has been glamorous. But although it is stacked full of money and
celebrity, it is still the cars and the engineering that remain the focus.
It makes sense, then, that with its own attention firmly fixed on fine watchmaking, Christopher
Ward has a Grand Prix collection that highlights some of the world’s most famous - and notorious -
Grand Prix locations and drivers.
From the very first development of motor vehicles, the French were enthusiastic car manufacturers
and drivers. It was France that instigated what started as a loose network of international car racing
events - not yet an actual championship.
And it was France that drove the gradual development of a set of rules for the sport, through the
French Automobile Association. These included the shift from roads to circuits - sometimes on
closed public roads - fixed distances, the starting grid with each nation colour coded, and regulations
on car weight, engine size and tyre types.
Grand Prix motor racing