Mick Doohan (born June 4, 1965) is an Australian five-time 500cc motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion. His five world titles were won consecutively from 1994 through 1998, made all the more impressive after horrific injuries in a 1992 practice crash nearly resulted in an amputated leg. Doohan called time on his racing career after breaking his leg again three rounds into the 1999 500cc season, with Sete Gibernau taking over his NSR500 for the remaining rounds and the title that year eventually going to teammate Àlex Crivillé. Doohan’s son Jack Doohan has competed in Formula 1 with the BWT Alpine F1 Team.
Certina Sponsorship
Certina became the Official Timekeeper of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in 1995, and in the same year began sponsoring Doohan. The Certina DS Chrono Mick Doohan limited edition was released, and available with a black or white dial. His full name “Michael Doohan” and signature appears on both the dial and case back, was limited to 1,000 pieces, and mounted on what looks like a red suspension spring inside of an oil can-shaped box. While this era of motorcycle racing watches is not well documented, these early Doohan editions are amongst the earliest known examples.
TW Steel Signature Editions and Ambassador Role
Doohan became an ambassador for TW Steel in 2011 and the Dutch brand released the TW Steel Mick Doohan Tech in 45mm (ref. TW612) and 48mm (ref. TW613). A launch event was held in Melbourne where the Australian world champion was joined by fellow ambassadors and Formula 1 greats Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard.
Casey Stoner and Mick Doohan in 2011. (Photo: Box Repsol, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Two years later, the Mick Doohan Limited Edition CEO Tech Multi Function Automatic (ref. CE4010) was announced in 2013. The dial features colors from Doohan’s title-winning Repsol Honda NSR500s, and was limited to just 500 pieces.
Related Pages
References
https://watchcharts.com/listing/2265951-certina-ds-michael-doohan-1996-limited-valjoux-7750-neu-swiss
http://uhrerbe.com/unt/45640-certina_ds_michael_doohan_1996_limited_valjoux_7750_selten_swiss_made_chrono.html
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/certina-chronograph-special-edition-michael-doohan-3026-c-0014b40a1c
https://everywatch.com/certina/watch-9161528
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrXv5Jf8ZYs
https://www.motoblog.it/post/29164/tw-steel-mick-doohan-special-edition
https://www.cycleonline.com.au/2011/03/29/tw-steel-launches-a-special-edition-mick-doohan-watch/
https://www.watchtime.com/blog/tw-steel-mick-doohan-limited-edition/
https://sa.twsteel.com/blogs/stories/mick-doohan