Reference 2446C Autavia GMT | Awarded to Racecar Driver Tony Adamowicz at the 9 Hours of Kyalami in S.Africa, 1971
Trans Am is a competitive series. Tony was racing the small 2 liter Porsche against more powerful Corvettes and Camaros, but his team's ability to set up the car, along with his natural ability at the wheel was unmatched. All season long, he continued to rack up class wins and overall wins or second-place overall wins. While Tony would ultimately fail to finish the last two races of the season, and did not even enter the very last race, he had clinched his place as champion of the ‘under 2 liter’ racing class in Trans Am.
Along with the glory of victory, a Western Union telegram showed up on December 3, 1968:
“Congratulations on being named the 1968 SCCA driver of the year and winning the motor/age award for outstanding effort in under two liters in SCCA Trans-Am presentation at the SCCA convention awards banquet.”
At that award banquet, Tony was presented with the present watch, a Heuer Autavia Ref. 3646 with the motor/age logo on the dial. The caseback engraved ‘1968 Tony Adamowicz Trans Am Driver of the Year SCCA” The 3646 Autavia already having a strong motorsport connection as we refer to the reference as the ‘Andretti’ for its connection to racing legend Mario Andretti who is frequently seen sporting the reference in period as well. Trophies come in all shapes and sizes, this one happens to come in 38mm of stainless steel. For while nobody is born a racer, Tony became one in the 1968 season, and this watch is tangible proof of that.
The connection between Heuer as a trophy for motorsport runs deep, and Tony Adamowicz won more than his fair share of races – and Heuer’s. This watch, and Autavia GMT, marries racing flair with a penchant for travel which is fitting considering that it was won at an endurance race in South Africa.
The race was held at the Kyalami International Grand Prix Circuit and called The Nine Hours of Kyalami. Tony was driving a rather legendary car for the occasion, the Porsche 917 – the very same car that Steve McQueen would make famous in his movie LeMans. While any endurance race is difficult, the challenge was enhanced by three items: his co-driver, the competition, and the car itself. His co-driver was a wealthy Italian winemaker named Mario Casoni who thought the idea of going racing sounded exciting but was ultimately not up to the task, leaving Tony to do as much of the driving as permissible under racing regulation – physically and mentally taxing. The competition – was none other than Brian Redman, Clay Regazzoni, and Mario Andretti, all driving the brand new Ferrari 312P cars which were more powerful and more agile than Tony’s older Porsche. As if to make matters worse, Regazzoni crashed into Tony early on, costing him his lead in the race. Lastly, Tony’s car – in Lucky Strike cigarette livery – was a parts bin special slapped together before the race with minimal testing.
“The new car was put together out of parts bins and had not turned a wheel on a circuit until I got into the car. I’m not certain it even had a chassis number. I had the pleasure of learning a demanding circuit and sorting out the car. I often wonder how I did it.”
-- Tony Adamowicz
