April 13, 2026 
“Out of Office” is a series of stories accounting our experiences trying to find moments of solace outdoors, as well as our interaction with the gear that comes along with us, and that most certainly includes the watches on our wrist. Out of Office is an escape. It’s about finding an opportunity to put the world on pause, whether it’s the few minutes you take out of your day to read this article or the couple of hours you dedicate to getting out there. It’s where our experience meets our enthusiasm. Through this series, we’ve already seen our authors hike in the local hills with a Sinn, explore a glacier via seaplane with a Citizen, and a road trip through Route 66 with Oris. Let’s continue this journey together and see where it takes us.”
1000 cc’s of over developed, instantly accessible power has a sound that stays with you days removed from the experience. The best way I can even come close to describing it is a ground shaking mixture of angry killer bee hive with a touch of avalanche. A sound that makes it seem absolutely ridiculous that someone would rest their chest against such a thing, while also trying to control it through multiple straights and turns. Yet for the 22 riders of MotoGP, it’s how they prove their mettle. And for one weekend in Austin, it’s how I realized my love for motorsports extends beyond the four wheel battleground of Formula 1.
Over the course of three days, MotoGP takes over the Austin, Texas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track. Accompanied by the supporting Moto2 and Moto3 series, the weekend is filled with practices, qualifiers, sprints and full races. At this year’s race, Tissot, the Official Timekeeper of the series, invited a group of writers, retailers and influencers to experience the event with a level of access only their over 20+ years in the sport could provide. I found myself fully immersed, constantly dashing between the Tissot Hospitality suite to a previously undiscovered part of the track. One moment, I was on a grid walk checking out all of the teams and the next, on a tour of the garage of Pertamina Enduro, the MotoGP team founded by famous rider Valentino Rossi. Learning about mode mapping and carbon fiber usage while the smell of gas and grease filled the air was almost too much for my motorhead to take.
Beyond the action on the track, Tissot made sure everyone on the trip had a chance to see just what it means to be the official timekeeper of a series. More than just having the brand’s name prominently displayed around the circuit, as timekeeper, Tissot is responsible for the integrity of results. In a sport measured by hundredths of a second, the job is extremely important and rarely discussed. Its one of those unglamorous positions that only sees the light of day when mistakes are made. However, getting an inside look at the technology and the size of the staff behind the timekeeping made me realize just how much these individuals should be celebrated as an integral part of the sport.
As the weekend progressed, I also had an opportunity to see some of the latest watches from Tissot. There was the 2026 MotoGP Limited Edition mechanical chronograph, which I wore throughout the weekend. It’s a watch that perfectly represents the sport it’s named after with a bezel that is designed after a brake disc along with a skeletonized dial which is reminiscent of the inner workings of the bike. At 45mm, it manages to still be easily wearable as it sports a relatively short 48mm lug-to-lug.
I also spent time with two other releases. There was the new Tissot Gentleman 38mm. The Gentleman, historically one of Tissot’s best selling collections, now comes in a size which opens a large door to customers with smaller wrists or those who feel more comfortable in the sub 40mm space. Additionally, there are now 2 new colorways in my personal favorite collection, the PR516 38mm. A fume blue which somehow tames the sportiness of the watch, as well as a stark white dial version which gives it a clinical, tool watch, no nonsense vibe. Both are welcome additions to the original three.
Though there were multiple watches that warranted more attention, it was the racing and everything built in support of it that continued to grab my focus. As it should because a Grand Prix weekend is a huge endeavor for the teams involved. For every rider, there are dozens of people behind them making things run. From the mechanics on-site all the way to the PR staff trying to increase the notoriety of the team. They all have a role to play so that once on the bike, the only thing left for the rider to worry about is the ride.
A ride the weekend made clear to me is extremely demanding on the body.
For the 40+ minutes of a main race, MotoGP riders swing the minimum 157 Kilo (346 lb) bike left to right, right to left and over kerbs hundreds of times. Adrenaline pumping at a constant high flow, with no breaks (unless a red flag for a major accident or incident is called). My appreciation for the sport only grew as I stood there, a few feet away, watching riders come off their bikes at the end of that grueling task. Their bodies shaking from the muscle fatigue, adrenaline release and cessation of vibration, barely able to walk.
As we finally arrived to the last race of the weekend, every moment and behind the scene experience leading up to it added to my anticipation. From watching the team prepare the bike for the umpteenth time. To listening to the Apache and Chinook helicopters flyover the grid before the race start. And losing sight of the riders as they started their formation lap, climbing all 130+ feet of “Big Red” to the first turn. All leading up to a race that would see me glued to the straight and the large screen across from our suite.
When it was all said and done, Marco Bezzecchi of Italy, from the Aprilia Racing Team, bought home the major trophy. As he hoisted it above his head, with weakened arms, I experienced some of the best parts of this jam packed weekend. Standing there next to the Aprilia team, tired and spent, yet still singing the Italian national anthem like their lives depended on it, loud enough for everyone on the main straight to hear. Watching Bezzecchi cautiously drop a 3 liter size bottle of Prosecco Doc from the podium to the welcoming hands of a mechanic so it could be shared amongst the team (germs be damned). In those moments I realized that this sport had now hooked its grease stained claws around my heart with no chance of it ever letting go.
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