How ‘Ferrari’ got Patrick Dempsey back into racing a Porsche

Patrick Dempsey got into racing in a big way. By 2015, he was essentially a full-time driver running the full World Endurance Championship in a Porsche 911 RSR, racking up a podium at Le Mans and a class win at Fuji that year. But, life, as it so often does, intervened. After that year, he walked away from both his career-defining role on Grey’s Anatomy and racing to focus on other projects and his young family. 

This year, he jumped back into motorsports, running the new Porsche Endurance Challenge North America in a 718 Cayman GT4 RS with longtime teammate and friend Patrick Long. He also ran a couple Porsche Sprint Challenge races, notching up a win at Sonoma. Dempsey spoke with Motorsport.com and other outlets a few weeks ago before the season-finale six-hour race at Circuit of the Americas, where he, Long, and Tanner Foust placed 2nd.

Playing Piero Taruffi in Michael Mann’s Ferrari helped convince him to get back into a race car. “I did all the driving in that, I really forgot how much I missed it and how much I really needed it,” Dempsey said. “Just psychologically, there’s something about getting behind the wheel and driving on the limit that is just really cleansing for the soul, and for the mind.”

He also ran in the revival Carrera Panamericana in a Tag Heuer-sponsored Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS last year. A test in preparation for the event at Road America also pushed him back into racing.

“You just go to a different level of consciousness. It’s transcendent when you get back into the car,” he said. “And I was like, ‘You know, I have to do this.’ So I talk to my wife, talk to my family and I’m like ‘I’ll be balanced as much as possible.’”

Dempsey said his WEC season took a “big toll” on his family, but now, his kids are finishing high school and starting college, so he’s got more free time. The Porsche Endurance Challenge North America was an ideal series for his return, with three hour-long, two-driver races and the aforementioned six hours at COTA. Each is attached to a Porsche Sprint Cup weekend, opening up further opportunities to get on the grid. 

Photo by: Porsche Motorsport

His only gripe is that there’s a long break between race weekends, so getting back up to speed can be tricky. Being slow the first time out is often “demoralizing.” But, he’s quick to praise the friendly paddock, and the all-time great road courses the series visits, like Sonoma and Road America. Plus the fact that despite his celebrity status — he was People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive just last year— being in a lower-profile series means there’s less attention on him.

“This is much more of a low key event. You don’t have all the eyes on you,” he said. “Even though we do have [a documentary crew following us], it’s nice to not have so much pressure, and to really have the joy of motorsport and racing… and the more relaxed you are, the faster you become.” 

Dempsey’s focus this year has been on upping his aggression. Coming from mainly an endurance background, he characterized his job as preserving the equipment, getting through his stints to deliver a competitive car to pro teammates. Now, though, the enduros are shorter, and the sprints are, well, sprints, so there’s more onus to move forward through the field quickly. He thinks he’s better on the brakes than he used to be, too. 

His plans for next year aren’t quite firmed up yet. It all depends on scheduling and funding, as to be expected. He did express a desire to do Porsche Carrera Cup races, and a classic road race, the Mille Miglia. But whatever he ends up doing, he’ll enjoy it.

“All that time away, and coming back into it, I appreciate it more,” he said. “You know, I got up this morning and I was like ‘You know, it’s so great that I have the opportunity to be here,’ You treasure every moment.”