Split second timing
They are made of titanium but coated in black rubber. However, the smooth and discreet profile of the items found on this model mitigate the risk of abrasion. The watch has generous proportions with a diameter of 45mm and case height of 16mm. Some watches of this size can have a crown and protruding pushers, which gouge or chafe the flexed wrist. If the third push button is pressed again, the split seconds hand immediately catches up with the stop watch hand and continues to run in tandem. This complication allows the wearer to time two separate events precisely. Unlike a standard chronograph, the split seconds chronograph has two hands that start simultaneously. The split seconds hand, which is superimposed on the stopwatch hand, can be stopped independently by pressing a third push button at 10 o’clock, meanwhile the stop watch hand continues to run. This timepiece is a split seconds chronograph, sometimes referred to as a rattrapante or doppelchrono. The seconds hand includes a hacking seconds facility, a feature found on many of the historical IWC timepieces which punctuate its history including the iconic pilot’s watches of the 1930s and 40s. Subsidiary seconds are located at 9 o’clock. It shares the design language of the 12-hour chrono counter but features a hand which jumps in discrete one- minute stages. The hand on the chrono- counter is black and tipped with a luminous equilateral triangle. A similar 30-minute chrono counter resides opposite, below noon. At the centre of the subdial, text confers the water resistance of the timepiece, 12 bar (120 metres). They confer information with brevity and clarity facilitating user-friendly, expedient read-off. At 3 o’clock, the day and date are presented in two adjacent apertures.Ī 12-hour chrono counter is located at 6 o’clock. Hours are marked with black batons with luminous centres. The tips are solid and lined with luminous material. It proffers a cool canvas to display time, providing welcome respite from the rising cockpit temperatures. The hour and minute hands are partially open-worked, with apertures adjacent their fulcrum. The silver tincture matches the gleaming bodywork of the cars driven by Hamilton and Rosberg on race weekend. Formed of titanium and designed for measuring crucial lap times, the watch is perfectly at ease with the intended symbolism. It takes inspiration from the historic model of the 1950s, but embraces the modernity exampled along the pit lane. If ever there was a watch that was the perfect metaphor for competitive wheel to wheel action, then it has to be the Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium. Therefore, it was inevitable that with its masculine persona and expertise, use of cutting-edge materials, such as ceramics and carbon-fibre, IWC would eventually enter the octane fueled world of Formula One. The Ingenieur is this year’s motorsport inspired collection from Schaffhausen. IWC is well known for its insatiable appetite for engineering excellence.
Indeed, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team and IWC Schaffhausen have commenced a three year engineering partnership where information is shared. Space age materials are sought to mitigate weight whilst retaining rigidity and strength. It comes as no surprise that in their pursuit of performance, companies seek synergies and alliances are formed. Exhaustive tests take place in the wind tunnel to optimise the trade-off between downforce and drag. Teams expend many man-hours in the relentless pursuit of superior performance. The two front row positions were decided by less than half of a second, remarkable when you consider a lap is 3.295 miles.Ĭompetitive advantage can be determined by the smallest of margins.
#Split second timing drivers
Drivers would trade tenths of a second to gain a prominent location on the starting grid. The track was water-logged and confined the cars to the pit-lane for the bulk of the scheduled qualifying session. Unusually, the balance of the qualifying took place on the morning of the race. It looks like it is going to be another exceedingly competitive year, where success or failure, can come down to a few fractions of a second. A rain-soaked qualifying session on the Saturday was prematurely curtailed. The inaugural race of the 2013 Formula One season took place at Albert Park, Melbourne on the 17th March 2013.