Daytona 2010 - Artikel

Zitat :

Catching Up With Patrick Dempsey By John Dagys

Patrick Dempsey is quickly becoming an endurance racing veteran. The popular TV/movie star made his Rolex 24 debut just two years ago and now returns to the endurance classic with more confidence than ever. Last June, Dempsey embarked on his first 24 Hours of Le Mans -- a race that featured many ups and downs.

With 24-hour race experience at Daytona and also in France, Patrick Dempsey continues to add serious mileage to his pro racing experience. (John Dagys) » More Photos

?Competing in a Ferrari F430 GT prepared by four-time FIA GT2 champions AF Corse, Dempsey ended up driving over 10 hours of the race himself after co-driver Don Kitch Jr. fell ill, leaving the driving duties to himself and Joe Foster. The duo persevered and finished a respectable ninth in class, a commendable achievement given all three drivers were Le Mans rookies.

“It’s nice to have a solid 24-hour race under your belt,” Dempsey said. “I’ve definitely developed a lot more confidence having survived that race. It was a dream come true to go there and in those conditions, plus the amount of seat time I got... Having close to 10 hours in the car at Le Mans is a great gift. Now the real hunger is to win. You want to be up there and competitive.”

Dempsey’s latest challenge lies with his Rolex GT Series team, which has expanded to a two-car Mazda RX-8 operation for 2010. Dempsey Racing has joined forces with Team Seattle, the charitable organization which has raised over $3.5 million for Seattle’s Children Hospital from the past decade of racing in the Rolex 24 and last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with Dempsey and Foster.

Dempsey and longtime driving mentor Foster team with Charles Espenlaub and Scott Maxwell in the No. 40 RX-8, while the Team Seattle Mazda features the driving strength of Kitch, James Gue, Dave Lacey and 2009 Rolex GT Series co-champion Leh Keen. The No. 41 machine was quickest in the “Roar Before the 24” test three weeks ago and qualified ninth in the 30-car GT field this weekend.

Like a handful of other Rolex Series drivers, Dempsey is pulling double-duty this weekend, also competing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with a brand-new MAZDASPEED3. The ST-class machine, entered by Freedom Autosport, was co-driven by none other than 2009 Atlantic Champion John Edwards, who Dempsey gave laps in his RX-8 during the Rolex Series test.

Adjusting to the handling characteristics of the MAZDASPEED3 and his Rolex GT RX-8 requires PD to reset his brain when he switches between the Rolex and Continental Tire series. (John Dagys) » More Photos

“It’s such a transition from an RX-8 and the speed difference is huge,” Dempsey said. “It’s a Street Tuner car, so it has a lot of characteristics of a production car. The front wheel drive is certainly challenging. You have to prepare for that and get the wheel pointed, and the car really takes off. The adaptability to the car is giving me more experience. This weekend is flying by because I’m always in a car or running from one car to the next. So that’s fun and challenging as I continue to grow.”

Dempsey and Edwards finished 22nd in class in Friday’s Fresh From Florida 200, but they now both set their eyes on the twice-around-the-clock enduro. Edwards secured a last-minute ride with the Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda squad, one of seven RX-8s entered in tomorrow’s race and the full Rolex Series season.

With such a solid field of RX-8s, including the 2008 Rolex 24-winning SpeedSource squad, Dempsey feels 2010 could be Mazda’s breakthrough year in the title chase.

“We really want to give Mazda a championship and have a real shot at doing it this year, so that would be nice to see,” Dempsey said. “You look at the field of drivers in the Rolex 24 and for the rest of the season in the Rolex Series, there’s a lot of people out there. If you can succeed here, you can succeed pretty much anywhere.”

Dempsey hopes to compete in as many Rolex Series races this year as his filming schedule allows.

While he’ll likely be on the set of a movie during his hiatus from filming Grey’s Anatomy this spring, Dempsey is working hard with his insurance company to let him race during the film’s production.

And a return to Le Mans shouldn’t be counted out, either. In fact, Dempsey has even grander ambitions for the future, which includes many of the classic endurance races around the world.

“If we could get sponsorship, I’d love to go back to Le Mans this year,” he said. “We certainly want to go back with Mazda in two years, so we’ll see. But I absolutely want to do it. We want to do Le Mans, Sebring, Nurburgring, Spa, all the classics. There’s a lot of races out there I’d like to do and hopefully my ability improves and I can get to those races.”

While he calls the Rolex Series home, Dempsey hasn’t hidden his dreams of also stepping up to the prototype ranks one day, to tackle races such as the Twelve Hours Sebring in a Mazda-powered LMP machine.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us before we get there,” he said. “But it’s good to have goals so you can start looking to reach those. This year is really just about consistency once again and have strong finishes.”

And that’s what Dempsey Racing hopes to achieve come 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Getting both of its cars to the finish line will be the primary objective in a season-long bid for the GT championship.

Quelle: rolex24notebook

Zitat :

DAYTONA BEACH — Patrick Dempsey could have found sanctuary in his motor home during one of the breaks between practice sessions Friday, but he had too many questions about today’s start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

That’s why he attended the ceremony for former sports car winners so he could ask a lot of questions about the way his car drives.

“You can tell it’s not just a hobby for him,” said sports-car standout Boris Said. “He’s gotten very good at this. He’s asking the right things. Over the last three or four years, he’s gotten better, better, better. I feel very comfortable out there racing against him.

“This is his release from his day job, but he takes it very seriously.”

Dempsey, an actor on “Grey’s Anatomy,” will field two Mazda RX-8 sports cars in the GT class in the race that starts at 3:30 p.m. The Grand-Am Road Racing series has become more than a hobby for the actor; it’s become a second career.

That’s why he surrounded himself with some of the top Daytona Prototype drivers, trying to get as much help as possible.

“We want to win,” Dempsey said. “There’s no question we’re jumping up with two cars this year. At this point, it’s not a hobby. It’s a full-time profession.”

Dempsey follows a long line of Hollywood stars who have found refuge inside a sports car at Daytona. Others included: Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, Craig T. Nelson, Robert Carradine, ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, Lorenzo Lamas and Jason Priestley.

The pinnacle of the celebrity appearances came in 1995 when Newman finished first in class and third overall.

This will be Dempsey’s third 24-hour race at Daytona. He also has two starts in the Brumos Porsche 250 in July.

Dempsey understands fans recognize him more for his work on film, although he’s worked tirelessly to make a name for himself as a sports car driver.

“You have to prove yourself no matter what you do,” he said. “I know that. I know I’ll always have that [acting] shadow over me. This is another profession for me.”

Quelle: Daytona Notebook

Zitat :

After a grueling 24 hours of racing, co-drivers Joe Foster, Patrick Dempsey, Charles Espenlaub and Scott Maxwell came away from the 48th Rolex 24 At Daytona with a sense of accomplishment following the No. 40 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8 GT team’s Rolex 24- best sixth-place finish in the GT class.

“It’s fantastic,” Dempsey said. “It’s great. I’ve really got to thank the team; they did a great job preparing the cars. It’s our first time out with two cars and both of them finishing is really great. The guys drove
superb all night long, and we all just wanted to finish and to finish in sixth place is great. Joe drove
fantastic, Scotty, everybody did a phenomenal job. I’m really excited.”

The No. 40 Mazda was a fixture inside the top 10 from the fifth hour of the race onward. As was the case
with everybody in the field, the team did encounter its share of minor issues throughout the first 16 hours,
but it wasn’t until early in the final third of the race that the team had any extended time on pit road.
The car spent roughly 20 minutes in the pits within seven hours of the checkered flag as the team worked
to correct a front-end vibration that Dempsey encountered in the second half of his final double stint. The
team had another shorter stay on pit road with Maxwell at the wheel to work on issues at the rear of the
vehicle, but outside of track position, the No. 40 Mazda did not lose much in the race standings.
“We had a few things to fix like everybody does, but the main thing is everybody stayed consistent and
we just sort of stayed out there,” Foster explained. “We were never rocket fast, but we definitely caught
drafts when we needed them at the right moment and kept going around, which is all you need to do for
24 hours.”

Over the remaining six hours, the No. 40 co-drivers pedaled for all they were worth as a top-five result
was within sight. Espenlaub drove the final stint and kept the pressure on, ultimately coming up a lap shy
of the fifth-place battle. However, he did manage to take sixth place away from Wayne Nonnamaker in
the No. 43 Mazda inside the final 10 minutes.

“It’s a dream come true,” Espenlaub said. “Even in the last couple years when we’ve had problems and
stuff, I still – at the heart of it – have a great time. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid, so it’s a
dream now to be able to race here. I just think it’s an honor to be included in the Dempsey Racing crew
and to be able to share this with everybody.”

This weekend’s result was far and away the best in three Rolex 24 starts for the team. The previous best
run was 22nd in the GT class and 35th overall last year. The No. 40 Mazda came home 13th overall, 73
laps behind the overall winning No. 9 Porsche Riley Daytona Prototype. The No. 40 team finished 25 laps
behind the GT-winning No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda and was the second-highest finisher among the
seven Mazda entries in the GT class.

“I’m thrilled for Mazda, that’s really nice,” Dempsey said. “It’s been a tough year for Mazda and everybody
in the car industry, but to see (No. 70 driver) Jonathan (Bomarito) coming in there, it’s nice. Also,
(SpeedSource owner/driver) Sylvain (Tremblay) really deserves it. These guys have been under the gun
with building a lot of cars and he had a tough year personally, so I’m really happy for them. It’s a win for
everybody. We are the Mazda family and it’s just a great way to start our championship run for Mazda.”
Next up for the Dempsey Racing squad is Round 2 of the 12-race 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car
Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway
on Saturday, March 6. The race will be televised live on SPEED at 5 p.m. ET.

Quelle: Press Release

Wow ich wusste gar nicht, dass Patty neben dem 24h Rennen noch ein zweites Rennen mit dem MAZDASPEED 3 gefahren ist... von daher Hut ab vor dem 6. Platz und der Energieleistung von Patty mal eben noch ein zweites, kleines Rennen zu fahren !!!

Und Patty will die klassischen Rennen ua. am Nurburgring fahren- na dann immer her damit und ich drücke die Daumen (natürlich ganz uneigennützig ), dass es etwas mit LeMans gibt ....