Rallye des Princesses Richard Mille 2022
After a two-year hiatus, the 21st edition of the Rallye des Princesses Richard Mille, the most famous and prestigious women's event, took place from May 14 to 19, 2022 between Paris and La Baule, through the enchanting by-ways of Normandy, from the Pays de la Loire and Brittany.
At the start of a rally, hands on the wheel of a vintage car, time stands still. You need both hands free to drive these cars with no power steering plus an attentive co-driver to study the road-book to plot the course, not to mention advanced mathematical capabilities if you want to score at the top of the ranking of regularity tests. The rally is not a race, but a way to highlight sportsmanship, surpassing oneself with elegance. Shared values at the Richard Mille house, which is already very involved in the automotive industry, but also in the women's world with various actions and sponsorships such as the Richard Mille Racing Team, the Lacoste Ladies Open or the many internal events of the brand that are exclusively reserved for women.
Power and freedom behind the wheel.
Amanda Mille, Richard Mille’s director of brand and partnerships, tells us that today 35% of their watch collection targets women. We therefore observe a strong feminisation of the clientele since 2014, when Amanda made her debut alongside her father. At the time, the women's collection represented only 4% of the offering. “When the first female clients approached us, they only wanted what men couldn't have. A woman could be naked and have a watch.” For women, a watch is a sign of power according to Amanda.
Just like a timepiece, an automobile has the power to transform a woman into a superhero. This is the promise made by Viviane Zaniroli, founder of the Rally des Princesses. “I want women to be proud of themselves after this Rally” she said, full of emotion at the end of her goodbye speech at the Closing Gala. The competitor of the Rallye des Princesses is plural: Entrepreneur, housewife, grandmother, model, doctor, lawyer, journalist, sailor, or mechanic. Princesses come from a variety of horizons, backgrounds and generations. What brings them together is this desire to surpass themselves, to allow themselves time to exist by living this parenthesis in a frantic or sometimes too monotonous life.
Margot Lafitte, Richard Mille ambassador and sponsor of the Rallye des Princesses.
Alongside these women of action, was Margot Lafitte, pilot and television host, but also godmother of the event. She opened the road with Amanda Mille at the wheel of the car bearing the number 1, a BMW 507 dating from 1958, a car estimated at 2 million euros.
Margot Laffite & Amanda Mille behind the wheel of an 1985 BMW 507
Margot, who is signing her 6th year of partnership with Richard Mille, inaugurated her first participation in the Rallye des Princesses. The driver and daughter of Jacques Lafitte, the famous French Formula 1 driver, tells us about her first steps in the car: "I started driving late. At 23, without any experience, I was offered the chance to participate in the Andros Trophy on ice to complete a crew. After that, it was obvious, I wanted to do that, I was very competitive, and it was also a way for me to enter my father's life because he was very secretive.
I didn't know much about my father's life. Obviously, at school I wrote that he was a Formula 1 driver, but it was very abstract. He didn't have a racing suit or a trophy at home, he never talked about the races, but I can recall his conversations with his friends in the automotive world.
When I entered this world at the age of 23, I discovered everything and put words and images on things that I had heard as a child. Very quickly, Margot found a place for herself in the automotive industry, without pressure or rivalry.
“People were very welcoming, it was very fluid and I loved discovering this world. I was a woman, I started late, too late for F1, I didn’t bother anyone, everyone was super enthusiastic.”
Sporting and human emotion
It is on a route from beach to beach, Le Touquet, then Deauville, Dinard for an arrival in La Baule, that our Collector/Road-book crew, Macha Vananty / Karlina Vitolina lived the life of a princess. Whether it's a day at the wheel of our sublime black Porsche 356, or the evening at a table in the perfectly helmed palaces of Richard Mille, we made great encounters with people, watchmakers and cars.
Randomly along the route, we had the pleasure of admiring other crews such as the 1985 Ferrari 308 GTB Quattrovalvole of competitors Sabine Käppeli and Emma Rabiller, or the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder of Arielle Morin-Lescure and Camille Dalbard Martin. We were marked by the rare privilege of being able to admire the majestic Mont-Saint-Michel or the landscapes of the Natural Park of the Gulf of Morbihan and the Salt Marshes of Guérande.
The 1500 km were travelled in 5 daily stages, oscillating between an average speed of 40kmh, and some joyful bursts of speed, in particular during our stop at the Lohéac circuit, then the finish line in La Baule, awaited us.
The even culminated with the wonderful Gala evening and prize-giving, during which the victory of Carole Gratzmuller and Elisa Laurent (who dominated the event from start to finish at the wheel of their Chevrolet Corvette C2) was announced. Then it was time for the Zaniroli couple to say a last goodbye and seal the transfer of the organization of this fabulous event to the teams of Peter Auto, known for organizing the biggest events such as Le Mans Classic, Chantilly Art and Elegance or the Tour Auto.
The next date for the Rallye des Princesses, Richard Mille has already been scheduled for next year, from June 3 to 8, 2023.
NB: This article was written by Macha Vananty and published in Roabook magazine