Banbury-based Aston Martin Racing dominated the final GT1 qualifying session for this weekend's Le Mans 24-hour race.

Its two DBR9s stormed to the top of the timesheets, taking first and second places, with Czech driver Tomas Enge taking a record fifth consecutive pole position at the La Sarthe circuit.

George Howard-Chappell, team principal of Aston Martin Racing, said: "We're very pleased with that. Everything went to plan. Right at the end we did a few laps on low fuel and new tyres to set a time."

Aston Martin will be celebrating a weekend of endurance racing when the marque competes at both the Le Mans 24-Hour race and the 24-hour Nurburgring race.

At Le Mans, four Aston Martin DBR9s will be chasing victory in the GT1 category, in front of a crowd that traditionally includes tens of thousands of flag-waving British enthusiasts.

Prodrive of Banbury-prepared Aston Martin Racing's two DBR9s will be driven by Banbury-based Darren Turner, Enge and Andrea Piccini (Italy), who will share the number 007 car.

In car number 009 are Pedro Lamy (Portugal), Stephane Ortelli (Monaco) and Stephane Sarrazin (France).

Also competing at Le Mans will be the Aston Martin Racing BMS Scuderia Italia DBR9, which will run with the number 69, and the number 62 Russian Age Racing (Team Modena) DBR9.

Meanwhile, as a tribute to the Aston Martin DBR9s at Le Mans, the near-standard V8 Vantage racing at the Nurburgring will have the famous green and yellow colours but in this case spectacularly reversed, with warm yellow bodywork and green around the signature grille opening.

While the DBR9s will be fighting all the way at Le Mans, their colleagues at the Nurburgring intend to run at a quick but comfortable and consistent pace, avoid other car's incidents, and complete the 24-hour race.

The V8 Vantage entering the race was prepared by a team of employees at the Aston Martin factory at Gaydon, near Banbury.

Aston Martin's chairman and chief executive officer, Dr Ulrich Bez will share the driving in Germany with Chris Porritt, Aston Martin's vehicle engineering manager, fellow development driver Wolfgang Schuhbauer, and Horst von Saurma, editor-in-chief of Sport Auto magazine, in Germany, who has years of Nurburgring racing and testing experience.

  • The Audi of Allan McNish starts the 74th Le Mans 24 Hours from pole-position on the 50-car grid. McNish shares his 'factory' Audi R10 TDI with Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Dindo Capello and it was the Italian who set the fastest time in the final four-hour qualifying session. Capello stopped the clock at 3mins 30.466secs, an average speed of 145.48mph, with the 'sister' Audi Sport Team Joest R10 TDI of Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro/Marco Werner setting the second fastest time (3:30.584), courtesy of Werner, to complete an historic front row.