Written by:
Patrick Dempsey
06/17/2009
Beverly Hills, CA
Dempsey files his final blog entry from his eye-opening debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
I’m sorry for the delay in filing this blog, but the race (like most) didn’t go completely to plan, and I soon realized that getting some rest was more important than anything else. I am now home in L.A., trying to catch up on sleep, and about to re-pack for Mid-Ohio. Have I said lately that I have best and most supportive wife and family in the world? They truly are, and I couldn’t be doing this without their love, support and patience.
Dempsey and Joe Foster (left) drove the lion's share of the race after team driver Don Kitch became ill. (Getty Images)
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As you may know, Don was suffering all week from a respiratory infection, and the heat and stress of the race made it worse. After his third hour-long run in the car, Mirka (our physical therapist) told the team that Don was getting worse and it was to the point of becoming dangerous. She strongly recommended that Don not drive again for his own safety. This had to have been a crushing blow to Don after all his hard work. It also meant that Joe and I would have to pick up the slack, and complete the remaining 18 hours of the trace with only two drivers.
It was grueling. There really was not enough time to sleep. We did double stints in the night, but this also meant Joe and I were close at times to reaching our four hours per six-hour limit on driving. When the sun rose in the morning, it did provide some relief and motivation, but then we realized there was still a long long way to go.
The car and crew were faultless. Sometime in the morning, I am not sure when, I heard a snap and the rear of the car felt strange. I came into the pits and found we had a broken rear wind mount which took 15 minutes to fix. This was the only problem all race, the only non-scheduled pit stop, and we pressed on.
The Porsches all were having issues, and GT2 was becoming a Ferrari rout. Sometime in the morning we reached the top-10 in class, and Joe and I kept making laps. The team was doing its best to keep us going, and I ended up missing a couple of media appointments, but I was just too tired. When I was in the car, I was focused on making laps with no mistakes. When I was out of the car is was food, water and rest. I never really got any sleep.
During the last hour, it started to get surreal. I knew I would get to finish the race, with Joe handing the car back to me with 40 minutes to go. We were in 9th, with the 10th place car too far behind to threaten, and 8th too far ahead to catch. I knew I just needed to keep the car running and moving until the finish. I have read the stories where at the end of the race you hear every rattle, every squeak, and you wait for the car to break. I heard nothing; I was more worried about myself breaking! All I wanted to do was hit my marks, make smooth shifts, and just get the race over with! The last Le Mans rule we needed to worry about was that to be a finisher, you needed to cross the finish line within 5 minutes of the overall leader. On the last lap, the car felt as good as ever, and the only issue was traffic as the winners were working out their positions for the victory photographs. That whole exercise was strange, but I was just in survival mode.
So we finished, and kept our top-10 streak alive. Since Daytona, every race I’ve driven in, we’ve been in the too-10. I can proudly say I’m now a Le Mans veteran with a 9th place finish under my belt.
Dempsey drove the No. 81 Advanced Engineering - Team Seattle Ferrari F430 GT to the finish line at Le Mans. (Getty Images)
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It was an amazing experience, full of memories that will last a lifetime. I need to return, and next time going for a win instead of an experience. 2011 will mark the 20th anniversary of Mazda’s historic win at Le Mans, and I just can’t help thinking how great it would be to go back to Le Mans, with Mazda, on the anniversary of this win. Our three-rotor RX-8 would sound so good here!
I want to thank AF Corse, Team Seattle, Michelin, El Grado Tequila, Watchlivesurgery.tv, Ferrari, my crew both in the U.S. and France, for making this an amazing journey. I also need to thank Mazda. They were gracious enough to give me permission to drive for another brand, and I really appreciate it.
A big thanks also goes out to Joe Foster and Don Kitch. Joe, you are a great friend and partner and it was so special to share this with you. Don, your vision and hard work put this whole thing together, and we accomplished great things for the two children’s hospitals in both Seattle and France. It was a special week, and thanks for sharing it with me.
I also have thank everyone who has followed me all week with this blog on SPEEDtv.com. It’s an inspiration reading all of your comments and I look forward to meeting some of you at the track in the future!
~Patrick
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.
Follow Patrick and his sponsor Mazda at MazdaUsa.com and MazdaMotorsports.com.
