Sebring winners recieve exclusive watches

SEBRING, FL. - The 11 winning drivers from last weekend's 52nd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring are not only riding high after their wins in America's oldest and most prestigious sports car race, they are also looking sharper thanks to the JeanRichard watches they received in podium ceremonies following the event.

A collection of fine Swiss timepieces intended for a clientele seeking original and exclusive products, JeanRichard has joined the American Le Mans Series in a new sponsorship and awards program that began at Sebring, the opening event of the 2004 season.

JeanRichard presented watches valued at $3,950 to the winning drivers in all four classes of the American Le Mans Series in the Sebring event and will also present watches to the winning drivers in Chevy presents Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, a 1,000-mile endurance event that will be held Sept. 25. JeanRichard will also present watches to the championship drivers and team owners for the 2004 American Le Mans Series season, with the presentations to be made at the series awards banquet.

Receiving the first JeanRichard watches at Sebring were Frank Biela, Allan McNish and Pierre Kaffer, overall winners of the event and LMP1 class winners in the Audi UK Team Veloqx Audi R8. Also receiving watches were Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis, GTS class winners in the Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C5-R.

Sascha Maassen and Timo Bernhard, GT class winners in the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, received watches as did LMP2 class winners John Macaluso, Mike Borkowski and Ian James, drivers of the American Spirit Racing Lola B2K/40-Nissan. Ronald Jackson, President of JeanRichard Watches North America, made the presentations.

As another aspect of the sponsorship agreement, JeanRichard has been designated as the Official Watch and Timing Sponsor of the American Le Mans Series. JeanRichard is also a sponsor of the American Le Mans Series Radio Web, and there will be a JeanRichard logoed clock at the start/finish line for all American Le Mans Series races to track the elapsed time during the event.

The next race for the American Le Mans Series will be June 25-27 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

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