Formula One. The pinnacle of racing and the holy grail for every aspiring racing driver. A world of glamour, fame and danger. A place where the thoroughbred few get to drive the most advanced race cars this world has ever seen.
To get into Formula One, you need two things. Ungodly driving skills and strong financial backing. Without the money, your name needs to be Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, or Ayrton Senna to get you a place among the lucky twenty-two men in Formula One. On those really rare occasions ability is enough to get you a seat, but it happens only a few times every decade.
Our new Enoksen ambassador, Jan Magnussen, is an example of the above. He managed to secure a drive for McLaren and later for Stewart Grand Prix on raw skill and talent alone. In 1994, Jan won the British Formula Three championships in superior style; out of 18 races of the 1994 season, he won 14 of them. That is a record which still stands to this day, and 14 wins was actually one more than the previous record holder could manage. One more than Ayrton Senna! No wonder that Jackie Stewart once described Magnussen as “the most talented young driver to emerge since Ayrton Senna”. The doors to the promised land opened wide, and whilst Jan’s stint in Formula One was relatively short, it became the start of a great career.
It was soon obvious that the Formula One combination of high control and regimentation was not a match for the carefree spirit of Jan Magnussen. However, there was no denying that he was born to race and after the Formula One experience, he found success in other classes and as a General Motors works driver. Magnussen has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans an impressive four times in addition to winning the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona. He is a member of an elite group of drivers who have lifted trophies in single seater cars, sports cars and prototypes.
A native Dane, Jan lives in Roskilde outside of Copenhagen with his wife and two young children. He is also the father of Kevin Magnussen, who followed in his dad’s footsteps as a Formula One driver for McLaren, Renault and Haas F1. Father and son also raced together at the 2021 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The collaboration between Jan Magnussen and Enoksen will lead to the introduction of some very exciting racing inspired chronograph watches, which will be revealed in 2023.