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REUNION: Patrick Dempsey Blog
Hard to believe, but the last time I spent some time on SPEED.com with all of you was actually the last time I had a chance to race!
Patrick Dempsey  | http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/  |  Posted August 17, 2010  
Patrick Dempsey was overjoyed to get a second chance to drive Mazda's fearsome RX-792P IMSA GTP prototype at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. (Marshall Pruett)
Hard to believe, but the last time I spent some time on SPEED.com with all of you was actually the last time I had a chance to race the No. 40 Florida Live/Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-GT back in April at VIR. I have had a busy and productive summer filming but I can tell you without a doubt that my thoughts and focus are never far from the track or on our Dempsey Racing team, and that my commitment has never been stronger. We are having a great season with our expanded two Mazda team and I am pretty sure I can find the time to compete in at least one of the year’s two final GRAND-AM Rolex Series races in the next month. Fingers crossed!

At least this past weekend I was able to get to a race track and it was one of my favorites in Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. I drove the mighty Mazda RX-792P GTP car here for the second year in a row during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. I have always loved the GTP cars of the ‘80s and ‘90s and it is cool to drive a car from that era and see how it compares to our current Mazda RX-8 GT. It was also great to be able to see everyone from Mazda at one of their home tracks, my teammate Joe Foster also made the trip, and John and Jeri Graham from Global Diving & Salvage also took in their first Monterey historics event.
With his focus on completing a number of acting projects, Dempsey watched with pride from afar as James Gue, left, and Leh Keen, right, earned Demspey Racing's first win in the GRAND-AM Rolex Series at Watkins Glen. (LAT)

I really couldn’t think of anywhere I would have rather been than Mazda Raceway this past weekend unless, of course, it was the previous weekend! In that case I would have loved nothing more than to be at Watkins Glen watching our team take its first ever win with James Gué and Leh Keen in the No. 41 Team Seattle/Global Diving Mazda RX-8 GT. The Glen victory was a fantastic step forward for Dempsey Racing as a team and everybody did a great job across the board in getting us to the checkered flag first. The boys provided James and Leh with a great car, great pit stops and things finally rolled our way.

As a team we felt The Glen owed us one too as Joe and Charles Espenlaub nearly won it in the No. 40 Mazda last year. James and Leh also came close to winning the Glen’s six-hour race in June, so this victory really was overdue for us. It was a great first win for Dempsey Racing, the first for James in the Rolex Series and the first win ever in racing for John and Jeri. We also once again saw, as he charged to the lead, why Leh is the reigning GT Champion!

This year has been challenging as Dempsey Racing has grown to a two Mazda effort courtesy of John, Jeri and Global, and Team Seattle, but we have had some solid success in addition to learning many things along the way. Despite my crazy schedule, I keep up with Joe and the team on a daily basis and certainly feel like my presence is felt in the shop every day, as it always has been. I just like to keep current on what is going on now and, just as importantly, on how our long-term plans for the future are coming along, and we took a big step in fulfilling those plans with the team’s first victory.

The support we’ve received from Mazda has given us the stability to look ahead and partner with groups like Visit Florida and Team Seattle/Global Diving in an effort to get the team into a long term competitive position. More than just being competitive, we’re working hard to earn the respect of the other teams in the paddock and represent our sport well. Our successful efforts to generate funding for the Dempsey Center and the Seattle Children’s Hospital bear this out. Moving forward, Joe and I as team owners hope to consolidate the gains we’ve made during 2010 and continue to improve the competitive level of both cars week in and week out during 2011.
Streaking in front of the Mazda chalet during the qualifying race, Dempsey overcame a first lap spin to get comfortable and set the stage for the longer race in the afternoon. (Marshall Pruett)

The toughest part for me, though, is missing races and I can’t wait to get back in the No. 40 Visit Florida Mazda RX-8 GT as soon as possible, and I’m pretty sure we’ll see that happen before the end of the season. Even though we knew my ‘day job’ was going to keep me away a bit this summer, I’m as determined as ever to see Dempsey Racing continue to grow as a team, and to advance myself as a driver.

Driving the Mazda GTP car definitely helped me get back in the groove, and the first thing I noticed was the pressure. After being out of the cockpit for a few months, and having not seen the RX-792P for a year, jumping in to lead from pole position for Saturday’s qualifying race made for a few anxious moments.

Without the benefit of any test laps, it was straight into battle with no time for rehearsal, but as I’ve learned in the Rolex Series, that's why it’s good to go through your checklist and try to calm down as much as possible and get into the necessary mental focus.

That certianly helped, but starting alongside a legendary F1 and sportscar driver like Stefan Johansson made for a little bit of extra excitement! We had one parade lap before the start of our 5-lap race, and although I tried to get as much heat into the tires as possible, the 600 plus horsepower from the Mazda 4-rotor lit up the tires when I floored the throttle at the start. That moved me back a bit, but I settled into the first and second turns without any problem.

If there’s one thing about racing that never changes, whether it’s in GRAND-AM or the Reunion, it’s that you want to win. I was eager to get back in front of the field and found out at Turn 3 that my rear tires needed just a little bit more heat before they were ready to charge. If you watch the video, I had a slow rotation, waited for the field to go by, and got back to business. But first and foremost, thank goodness nobody hit me!

I was sitting in the car for those few seconds thinking, “OK, Patrick, this isn’t how we wanted to start off the weekend…” Thankfully, there were no issues and I caught and passed cars right until the checkered flag.

GTP: 1992 Mazda RX-792P In-Car Monterey 2010 WMV from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.



Coming back to the Mazda pits after the qualifying race was another amazing experience. The crowd of people who wanted to see the car up close was incredible. These cars are celebrities in their own right. There’s a tremendous history to them and to see them out running around the way they should be driven is wonderful. I think this is far more interesting to me than cars sitting in a static display, so my hat’s off to Mazda and all the other entrants who bring their priceless machines out to put on a show for the fans.

There was an interesting show on NPR recently. They said that stars are people that you see when you're a little kid and people that are stars when you’re adults, who are the same age, are just normal people. And I think that's the thing here at the reunion. You see the cars here that you’ve had as Matchbox cars and you see them in full size, and you’re like, “Oh my God, can I touch it?” And most of the owners are really open and allow you to come in and feel the car and enjoy the history with them and share it. I think that's the important part; you really have to share these cars with everybody, because we all ultimately own them and care for them. The memories and legacies belong to us as fans, and I’m certianly one of them.

Another treat has been to watch how active everybody at Mazda has been with the running of the RX-792P. During the week Robert Davis is the Mazda VP who manages product development and quality, but I know him as a fellow racer, and on this weekend a hands-on crew guy helping to prep the Mazda RX-792P. Even Jim O'Sullivan, Mazda North America’s CEO, was changing tires! You also see how Mazda North America really takes care of their racing heritage, and everybody there is involved with this car.
With plenty of sunshine overhead, Dempsey raced to third in the final GTP event of the weekend. Now he'll prepare to get back behind the wheel of his Rolex GT Mazda RX-8. (Marshall Pruett)

Our feature race Saturday afternoon was a more normal affair, and I climbed up to third by the end of the 8-Lap race. They worked heavily on the brakes and handling of the car since last year, so with the experience of the qualifying race, I really got to push the Mazda GTP car harder in the second race. The sights from inside the closed cockpit are unforgettable, but it’s the sound of the car – the rotary engine’s scream – that stays with you forever.

With the excitement of the Reunion now behind me, it’s time to get back to the remainder of the GRAND-AM championship and to start planning for next year. We made a very clear decision as a team that I was going to take the midseason off to go and get some movies in the can, to work on the development part of the movie I’m producing, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and hopefully we'll start shooting that the first of next year.

So on the acting front; I knew I needed to put in a very strong effort during my hiatus from Rolex Series racing to get some movies completed with the goal of having more time to race. I’m really focused on getting back to Le Mans next year and looking forward to a lot more driving in 2011.

It’s not as if I needed any extra motivation or inspiration, but even just the dozen or so laps driving the Mazda GTP car at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion has me on pins and needles waiting until I get to go racing again in my No. 40 Visit Florida Mazda RX-8. The passion from everyone in attendance last weekend was overwhelming, and it’s just that kind of passion that keeps me drawn to this sport.

~Patrick

View the Mazda RX-792P photo gallery from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

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, as well as VisitFlorida.com.
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Patrick Dempsey

Dempsey Racing

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