Patrick Dempsey is to return to sports car racing competition.
The actor/ racer will join Wright Motorsports in a campaign in the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America, a four-race championship for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and GT4 entrants.
Dempsey will campaign the #98Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, mentored by former Porsche works, Wright Motorsports driver, and co-driver Patrick Long.
Dempsey-Wright Motorsports will partner with longtime Porsche partner Mobil 1, paying homage to a 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning GT1 car adorned with the branding of the motor oil company.
The first event of the season will take place next weekend at Circuit of The Americas on Memorial Day weekend.
“Racing is like an addiction,” said Dempsey. “Once you start, it’s hard to stop. During pre-production on the recent Ferrari film, I got a lot of seat time and fell off the wagon, of sorts. Having an opportunity to get back with John Wright and his team, I realized how much I was missing the culture and really wanted to get back in. I really enjoy the camaraderie.”
Dempsey’s racing career saw considerable success, achieving podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2015), the 24 Hours At Daytona (2011, 2015), and Petit Le Mans (2013, 2014).
He and Long raced together under various banners from 2013 to 2015, and celebrated a win in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Fuji in 2015.
Dempsey will also race in the Porsche Sprint Challenge events that are scheduled on the same weekends, racing a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. These shorter, single-driver Sprint Challenge events are 40-minutes plus one-lap long races offering five different classes of competition, visiting some of North America’s favorite road courses.
