When the 77th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours gets underway tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM it will have a high profile guest starter as Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo will give the official start signal for the most prestigious endurance race in the motor racing world.

Mr Montezemolo was invited to Le Mans by Automobile Club de l’Ouest President Jean-Claude Plassart to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first of Maranello’s nine overall 24 Hour Race victories, which came courtesy of the 166 MM of Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon in 1949.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to start a race that has made motor racing history and has such strong links with Ferrari. Our Scuderia has delivered some unforgettable achievements on this circuit,” declared Montezemolo. “The Le Mans 24 Hour Race is synonymous with technologically-advanced sporting competition and has always been a focus of great attention on our part.”

In addition to the nine overall wins at Le Mans that were clocked up between 1949 and 1965 (the last thanks to Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory in the 250 LM), Ferrari has also taken numerous class victories in the French race, the most recent of which was delivered in 2008 by the F430 GT of the Risi Competizione team. A total of ten Maranello F430 GT berlinettas will be lined out at the start by eight private teams tomorrow afternoon.

Also on hand at the French circuit tomorrow will be the Ferrari GES Director Stefano Domenicali, his presence a further clear demonstration of the Maranello sports car maker's continuing interest in this classic race. In his role as Chairman of the Fiat Group, Montezemolo will also be marking another special anniversary at Le Mans tomorrow as it was 40 years ago, in September 1968, that the late Gianni Agnelli also started the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.

However the reigning Le Mans GT2 champions, Houston-based Risi Competizione, will start their defence from third place on the GT2 class grid. Last night's qualifying session saw the Californian-based Flying Lizard Motorsports outfit obtaining its first pole at Le Mans, with its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR being driven to the top spot by Jorg Bergmeister with a best lap of 4.03.202. In second place on the GT2 grid will be another Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, this time the #77 of the Felbermayr Proton racing team.

At the front of the field last night saw Stéphane Sarrazin, driving the #8 Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP, collecting a third consecutive overall pole position in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Frenchman, gave a shining performance at the very end of last night's session, after gaining pole position in 2007 and 2008. He put in two flying laps, during which he was slowed down by traffic, but he got it right on his third attempt. The #8 Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP will lead the field away tomorrow afternoon at 15:00, and Sarrazin will be sharing the wheel with Sébastien Bourdais and Franck Montagny. His lap time was 3:22.888, was 8 tenths of a second quicker than second placed Audi driver Allan McNish, with an average speed of 241 km/h over the 13.629 km track. With Peugeot and Audi as top two, the five other diesel cars are in the first four rows of the grid. The works Lola Aston Martins lead the petrol engine field after encountering mixed fortunes with the #007 going off on the Hunaudières.

Meanwhile Jan Magnussen will lead out the LM GT1 category at the wheel of the #63 Corvette, the Danish driver's best lap was in 3.54.230. The two GM factory Corvettes easily lead the class, outpacing the #66 Jet Alliance Aston Martin by 2 seconds. Finally another Dane, Casper Elgaard, snatched pole position in the LM P2 in the Essex Porsche RS Spyder just ahead of the other RS Spyder entered by the Japanese Navi team.