Misano, Where Precision Beats Raw Speed

Misano isn't a famous name the way Monza or Imola is, and that's sort of the point. The Autodromo Santamonica opened in 1972 just inland from Rimini on the Adriatic — at the time, the only privately-owned racetrack in Italy. It became a regular Formula 2 stop through the '70s and early '80s, and the names who won there read like a who's-who of Italian racing on the way up: Bruno Giacomelli, Andrea de Cesaris, Michele Alboreto, before any of them were famous.

The track was redeveloped in 2007, and the direction of racing was reversed — a technical, twisting layout built for exactly the kind of car control that doesn't come from raw horsepower. In 2011, after Italian rider Marco Simoncelli died racing in Malaysia, the circuit took his name: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. It still hosts MotoGP every year.

That's why Misano fit this watch. It IS the fastest-looking piece in the lineup — but that's not actually what the circuit was ever about. Misano built its reputation on precision through the corners, not bragging rights on a straight line. The tricolore bezel and chronograph function look the part, but what they're built for is reading splits and holding a line, the same discipline that made Misano a track that produced real drivers instead of just spectacle.

— Matt