Dempsey and Long, a lesson in driver swaps

Some know him as Dr. Derek Shepherd, others simply as McDreamy from television’s Grey’s Anatomy.

To the rest of the world, Patrick Dempsey is known as one of the fastest amateur drivers to grace a Porsche on the grid of GT and endurance races worldwide.

This past year, Dempsey, and his co-drivers Joe Foster and Patrick Long made their return to the biggest auto race in the world. The 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Patrick Dempsey

Photo by: Porsche Motorsport

A fourth place finish for the team was the best result for Dempsey at the French event.

“Everything is magic about Le Mans. The history, how the track has evolved, and the drivers who have raced here, all of that really means something to me,” said Dempsey.

“It’s a tremendous honor driving for Porsche with their history at Le Mans… and a little bit of pressure.”

One of the most interesting aspects of the race is sharing a car with other drivers. This calls for driver changes, and above all else, sleep.

“I think, for me, the Le Mans challenge mentally is the biggest. Staying focused, not worrying about what was going on around me but to just focus on the job at hand. Once you got in the car, quite honestly, that was the easiest thing to deal with. I was more relaxed in the car than I was out of it,” said Dempsey.

Patrick Dempsey

Photo by: Porsche Motorsport

“I do get sleep but it is not the same as when you are not at the track. Everything is so much more intense at a 24-hour race, and that includes even your sleep, but I am able to do it.”

Long says that Dempsey’s involvement with the team is valuable as he brings a lot of energy to their effort.

“It’s a great year for Porsche, with the 50th Anniversary of the 911, the 991 project in GTE-Pro and, of course, the Dempsey Del Piero Racing effort here at Le Mans,” said Long.

“Patrick has a lot of energy and he trains hard at the sport. A lot of times people assume that a Hollywood actor is going to come in and sort of look the part, play the part and then go home, but Patrick is a real competitor, he loves the sport.”

Those two drivers are now going viral in a Porsche Motorsports video, which gives a funny look into sharing a car with another driver for the biggest spectacle in sport.