Photo : Frederic GAUDIN/ACO

 

Close with Fiat owner the Agnelli family, in late 1973 he began by taking the Scuderia Ferrari in the direction of sports, orchestrating the arrival of Niki Lauda, who won two driver titles and three constructor titles in Formula 1 from 1975 to 1977. After having organized none other than the 1990 Football World Cup in Italy, he was called back to Ferrari the following year, at which time he became its Chairman. He then brought on Jean Todt (entered in 1993 in the wake of Peugeot's second consecutive win in La Sarthe; he is currently the President of the International Automobile Federation) then Michael Schumacher (in 1996) who would go on to dominate Formula 1 for five seasons, from 2000 to 2004.

On June 14th, Fernando Alonso, Ferrari driver since 2010, gave the start of the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after having completed a circuit lap at the wheel of a Ferrari 512 prototype from the early 1970s.

On Saturday, June 13, 2009, Luca di Montezemolo himself lowered the French flag to kick off the 77th edition, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first of nine Ferrari victories in Le Mans, won in 1949 by Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon with the magnificent 166MM. "There is a historic relationship between Ferrari and the 24 Hours of Le Mans and I admire the competitive spirit that can be felt here, he said at a press conference that day. We have a lot in common: for example the relationship to the land."

Since the inception of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the official Ferrari 458 Italias have won all the LM GTE Pro titles up for grabs, as well as the class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice (2012 and 2014).

2015 will mark the 50th anniversary of the ninth and last Ferrari victory in Le Mans, won by Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt.

"This is the end of an era and so I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvellous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari’s side in the 1970s, he explained in a release published this morning. Ferrari is the most wonderful company in the world. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been its leader."

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest pays homage to Luca di Montezemolo, great friend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for his wonderful years at the helm of Ferrari and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY JUNE 14 2014, RACE. With Luca di Montezemolo as its Chairman, Ferrari not only dominated Formula 1, but also the LM GTE Pro class in endurance since 2012. Here the Ferrari 458 Italia of Fisichella-Bruni-Vilander, victorious in the class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans.