Girard-Perregaux Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition: class and performance at the Cortina 2025 edition

The world of classic cars and that of watchmaking have many affinities, which reveal themselves in all their glory at rallies or regularity races. Experiencing them on board a classic car with an exclusive watch on your wrist is one of the most beautiful experiences for which those who love both long. This is why Watch Insanity‘s participation in the WinteRace Cortina 2025 in the company of Girard-Perregaux is an adventure worth recounting. Because travelling as a protagonist along some of the most beautiful roads in the Dolomites is a pleasure reserved for few.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX AND THE WINTERACE: AN ESTABLISHED PARTNERSHIP

The privilege we had was twofold, as we wrote above. In addition to the mechanics of the cars, the Haute Horlogerie mechanics of Girard-Perregaux kept us company in what, for Watch Insanity, was the third participation in the WinteRace Cortina (from 13 to 15 March) after those of 2019 and 2021. For the Swiss brand, however, it was the eighth consecutive year with the race, as Platinum Sponsor. Since 2017, the watch manufacturer has awarded the winners with a Laureato, the iconic Girard-Perregaux watch.

The choice of the Laureato as the reward for the winners of the competition is no coincidence: when the timepiece was presented in 1975 under the name Quartz Chronometer, it distinguished itself for its precision, which earned it the affectionate nickname of ‘Laureato della Maison Girard-Perregaux’ in the Italian press, awarding its precision with a diploma attesting the highest education, the degree (‘laurea’ in Italian, ed.).

WATCH INSANITY AT WINTERACE 2025: UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAINS

What we participated in was the 12th edition of the WinteRace Cortina. Battling out in the regularity race: 70 selected cars – 50 of which were classic, and 20 produced after the year 2000 and chosen from among those that have the requisites to be considered benchmarks of world car production (the Icons). The race took place in two different stages over the same number of days, both stages starting and finishing in Corso Italia in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Over two very intense days, we covered a total of around 460 kilometres, between the Dolomites and Austria. It was an adventure that began with the punching-in procedures, the phase that precedes the actual race and during which the crews begin to get to know each other, to study their opponents’ cars, to show off all the charm of their own cars. It is a unique moment, a behind-the-scenes moment that only those who experience the race as insiders have the chance to participate in – and that says a lot about what the spirit of the competition will be like over the next two days.

During the first stage, after departing from Cortina and passing through Cadore, we tackled the first Dolomite passes, Forcella Cibiana and Passo Duran, to stop in Agordo. From there, the really scenic part of the route began, with the Cereda pass and the descent into the Primiero area. Special tests in Siror and then, at the foot of the majestic Pale di San Martino in San Martino di Castrozza, the presentation of the cars to the public. Then, after a stop at Malga Ces, the return to Cortina d’Ampezzo via the Rolle Pass, the Valles Pass, Falcade, Canale d’Agordo, the picturesque Alleghe Lake and, finally, the Falzarego Pass with a view on the Ampezzo basin.

On the second day we crossed into Austria, after setting off and immediately passing the Tre Croci pass and Lake Misurina. From there, we drove through Dobbiaco and San Candido and then crossed the border, stopping in Sillian, at the Loacker house. Shortly after Sillian we left state road 100 to join state road 111, the picturesque regional road that runs through Obertilliach and from Osttirol into Carinthia as far as Kötschach-Mauthen. From there, head north to Lienz, the capital of East Tyrol. As in San Martino di Castrozza, the crews were also introduced to the public in the Austrian town. And as after San Martino, the return to ‘base’ via the border, the Alta Pusteria, and the arrival in Cortina via Dobbiaco and the Cimabanche pass.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX’S LAUREATO SKELETON WINTERACE EDITION

Two days of sport, nature, elegance, culture, across some of the most beautiful roads in Europe. Which were also the stage on which Girard-Perregaux presented a preview of one of the most eagerly awaited novelties of 2025: the Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition. A watch in line with the tradition that sees this collection from the La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture as the prize for the winner of the race. 

The Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition is a variation on the theme of the Laureato Skeleton, of which it retains the iconic look and proportions. Or, better still, a variation on the theme of the Laureato Skeleton Ceramic since, like that watch, the timepiece we met in Cortina has a 42 mm case in black ceramic, the same material used for the integrated bracelet. The refined workmanship alternates between polished surfaces – like the ring under the octagonal bezel – and satin-finished ones – like the bezel itself or the case middle. The same alternation is found in the machining of the bracelet links.

The skeleton dial has the same design as that of the Laureato Skeleton Ceramic. The satin-finished NAC-treated bridges and the chapter ring stand out. What visually distinguishes the Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition from the Laureato Skeleton Ceramic are the hands, indices and GP logo at 12 o’clock, which are plated in rose gold on this watch.

Inside the ceramic case works the reliable IWC-manufactured automatic calibre GP01800-0006. This movement is treated with a galvanic process to give it a ruthenium-anthracite grey colour. The skeletonisation allows a good portion of the movement’s 173 components to be seen in action. In particular, the continuous seconds wheel that actions the hand at 10 o’clock, the large variable-inertia balance at 12 o’clock (operating at 28,800 vibrations per hour) and the barrel hairspring at 5 o’clock stand out. Through the sapphire glass back, much of the vision field is occupied by the skeletonised pink gold oscillating weight. 

The Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition from Girard-Perregaux is not a limited edition but a limited production, given the high workmanship required for that type of ceramic. The price is on request. For those of us who tried it out for the first time, our hearts wept a little when we had to return it at the end of the two-day event in the Dolomites…

THE PROTAGONISTS OF THE RACE

Once again this year, there was no shortage of twists and turns during the WinteRace. Victory went to the 1963 Porsche 356 SC of Sergio Mazzoleni and Silvia Gotti, while the 1935 Fiat 508 of Domenico Battagliola and Emanuel Piola, who also won the Kraler Trophy in Dobbiaco, and the 1955 Porsche 356 pre A Speedster of Alberto Battistella and Dario Soldan also placed on the podium.

The parterre of competing cars was impressive, including a 1935 Fiat 508 S, the oldest car competing in the 12th edition of the race. Also registered in the ICON category: five Aston Martins, including several DBX 707s and a Vantage, and a rare BMW 327-28 Cabrio from the 1930s, which came from Belgium with the crew of Stefan Shrauwen and Claire Anne Marie Clerckx. There were five Ferraris at the start, including a 355 from 1995 and a very recent 812 Competizione from 2023, while the brand with the largest representation was Porsche, with 28 cars competing. These included two 356 Speedsters from 1955, numerous 356s from the 1960s and several 911 Targa cars from the early 1970s.

A parterre of dream cars for an experience that gave us two unforgettable days. Not only for the watch-motor combination and for the discovery of the Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition by Girard-Perregaux, but also for the fascination of the unique landscapes that Cortina and the Dolomites have given us, places that have always been able to seduce the many guests, both Italian and foreign, who pass through them. See you in 2026!

By Davide Passoni