AST Fastime Co-Pilote hits the stages!

After more than three years of research and development, the AST Fastime Co-Pilote rally watch has been launched, the uniquely stylish and functional timepiece heralded by world-class sportsmen as the ultimate watch for rally co-drivers.

Development of the Fastime Co-Pilote dates back to 1998 when AST Limited - the UK's leading stopwatch specialist - embarked on an initial design for a co-drivers' watch, the concept borne from demand for a high specification product which met requirements specific to the sport of rallying, where accurate timing is critical.

During that time, managing director Robert Thacker met George Donaldson, former rally driver and now the Sporting Director of the World Championship-winning Subaru World Rally Team. Sharing a passion, the two parties joined forces, Donaldson's regular work in the World Rally Championship affording them the opportunity to canvas the sport's greatest co-drivers for the ultimate specification.

Together with a number of the works co-drivers, the specification for the Fastime Co-Pilote was finalised during the 2001 Rally of Cyprus, the focus not just on its functions but equally the ease of set-up and use. The prototype, which was initially tested by World Championship winning co-driver Robert Reid and Welshman Nicky Grist on the 2002 Rally Argentina was an instant hit and the development process continued as Fran Cush, a designer renowned amongst other things for inspiring the Ferrari Formula One motorhome, finalised the unique casing.

Further testing by nine of the world's leading co-drivers on the 2002 Rally Finland saw the specification set and by the end of September this unique watch, suitable for co-drivers of all standards, was in production.

''This is the watch that all co-drivers have been looking for and it allows me to achieve on one instrument what I have been using several to do,'' commented Robert Reid, co-driver to 2001 World Rally Champion Richard Burns. ''The watch has all the usual functions you would expect of a good stopwatch, but over and above that there are features which meet the unique demands of rallying.

''In all, the Fastime Co-Pilote has six timers that can count up or down, can be linked to each other and to another stopwatch, as well as having the ability to store up to 30 stage times in its memory. Different co-drivers will find different features of this watch the most useful to them, but it certainly has the ability to do everything you will ever need.''

The key functions of the AST Fastime Co-Pilote include:

- Dual stopwatch and time of day display.

- The ability to select one of two pre start options: start the watch and the stopwatch will start on the next whole minute or select a pre-start time from 59 seconds to instant.

- The ability to store stage times in the memory (up to 30 stages) - the stage time, cumulative time and time of day that the stage was run being shown. There is the added ability to change a stage time and this will update the cumulative time.

- Six pre-programmable timers which can be programmed to count up or down, can be linked to the stopwatch and/or each other or run independently.

- An alarm function, second time of day and separate dual display stopwatch.

The AST Fastime Co-Pilote is currently available for sale through www.astopwatch.com, but will also shortly be available through leading retailers in the UK and worldwide.