Le Mans

I didn’t know much about the Le Mans when I decided to write a page on it. So I went on a research of the race and here is a bit of what I found.

The first Le Mans was held in 1923 in Le Mans in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and was won by Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard in their 3 litre Chenard & Walker.

There is no “I” in Dempsey, Seattle, or AF Corse

One of the interesting dynamics of the week is the melding of three different organizations. As I noted in the last posting, I am a lucky guy, getting to experience and participate at Le Mans thanks to the hard work and vision of Don Kitch and his Team Seattle. Without Don and his organization, I would not be here today. Don is here with his team who works with him and support his activities.

Patrick Dempsey got his first taste of the 8.5-mile Circuit de La Sarthe in free practice Wednesday evening. (LAT) » More Photos
Don went out and found a team to run with, and he found one of the best in AF Corse. They have a worldwide reputation for excellence in racing Ferraris, and I can see already it is well deserved. The car is beautiful and brand new. AF Corse has a special family relationship with Ferrari (the F in AF) that allows them to start the cars from a body in white, or bare chassis. Their experience is obvious in the quality of both the build and the preparation.

Even better is the attitude of the team. One of the things I am most proud of with my own team in the Grand-Am Rolex series is not only our focus on racing, but having fun at the same time. AF Corse, at least the people assigned to our car, have the exact same attitude. The cars are beautiful, the prep is serious, but when there is a moment of down time, the teasing and fun begins. Even if some of the team doesn’t speak English, and my Italian is limited, we still manage to taunt and tease each other and thankfully I am not sacred either. I feel most at home on the team when they start ripping on me too. We’re all starting to feel at home.

The Dempsey Racing group helping me out is just a small part of my team, but unfortunately the race last weekend at Watkins Glen and the race at Mid-Ohio the weekend after the 24 means that the technical part of the team needed to stay home and rebuild the car. Guys, if you are reading this, I am doing all I can to make it possible for all of us to come back here. I miss you guys, and I wish we could all be sharing this. Thanks for all you have done, and again Joe and I keep talking about how much we all need to be here, as Dempsey Racing.

The Dempsey Racing group that is here are working well together, making sure all the elements that we can control are under control. Joe is the coach, the leader, and glue. Dr. Jacques is working to keep Joe and my head and body at top form, focused on making sure we get the best results we can. Michael is a set of eyes in the pits and the link between the mechanics, engineers, and drivers. Jim is looking after the team marketing and logistics, while Patrick is providing extra help everywhere he is needed. This is Patrick’s first ever race, and so far he seems to be having a great time and I really can’t describe how much I enjoy him being here. He is my link to my family, and as much as I love racing and acting, my first and most important jobs are father and husband. I miss Jill and the kids, and Patrick is my link and provides a great calming influence. We have a new member, Adam, who is in charge of PR for the team and his job is a huge challenge. I have been overwhelmed with the coverage our effort is generating here, and poor Adam has to serve as gatekeeper to the media. Thanks bud, welcome to the team! Can you say trial by fire?

I made it through the Wednesday press conference, and got in some plugs for our long-term plan. As I said earlier, we are very happy to be part of both Team Seattle and AF Corse. Still, the long term vision is to come back soon with Dempsey Racing at bring the sound of a screaming rotary engine to Le Mans. Several times either Joe or I mentioned this plan, trying not to overshadow the current with our dreams for the future, but still that is our goal. Currently, the rules here do not permit our Rolex Mazda RX-8
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to run at Le Mans. I guess a little lobbing with the ACO never hurts, right?

The best news about the end of the press conference is that it is almost time to drive. It can’t come soon enough.

Rain, rain, go away

18:00 finally arrives (OK, 6 p.m. for us Americans, but when in France I am learning quickly that the best approach is to do it the French way!) and cars can take to the track for the first time. Believe it or not, the first practice session is six hours long, all the way until midnight. One of the rules here at Le Mans is that each team member must take at least 10 laps of practice, and also 3 laps of the track at night. Our goal for tonight is to accomplish this. Joe will take the track first, Don second, and I will go last. As Joe strapped in, I swear we all had goosebumps. Here we are at Le Mans, about to take to the track!

Track conditions were wet, but the rain that had been falling off and on all day had stopped. It is one of those great moments where the tire choice is not obvious. Too wet for slicks, but should we be on wets? Intermediates? The other big challenge is what was the weather like all around the track. Parts of the track are literally miles away from the pits and the conditions could be totally different.

Joe went out, and did his 10 laps on a drying track. At least to start. He finally was going to try to put down a flyer (funny that we are even talking about a flyer after only five laps practice and first time on the track ever, but such is Le Mans) when he was greeted by a wall of rain exiting the second chicane. In the first segment he had been seven seconds faster than the lap before so he was on a good one, but a fast lap was not really the goal anyway.

While Don worked on getting in his 10 laps, Joe talked me around the track. He was like a kid with a new toy, talking a million miles an hour, bouncing off the ceiling with joy and excitement. I was so happy for him, but now I needed to get focused. The stomach starts to tighten, but Jacques’ work on the focus and Jim worked on jokes and keeping me loose. Remember that 10 laps at LeMans is a long time, and this was a long long wait.

As I got ready to get in, the rain got worse and worse. I actually love racing in the rain. I have gotten pretty good at it too. Of course, I would have preferred my first laps to be in the dry, but that was not to be and I was ready. I just wanted to get out there, to experience the track for the first time.

I wish I could write everything that happened, everything I felt, but in some ways it was just a blur. I was having some problems with my downshifts, but overall the car was good. Heading out for the first time on the Mulsanne, the trees on the left, the yellow house, all just like I had seen before in videos. It just hit me so powerfully. I am here. I am at Le Mans. Driving. At Speed.

I thought about my Dad for just a second (One of the things about Le Mans is the track is so fast, so long, that the mental aspects of driving and maintaining concentration are much tougher that the physical demands) and wish he were here to share this. I am my father’s son when it comes to love of cars and racing, and I feel like he is looking down and me and it make me smile. But as soon as that thought came to mind, a voice inside my head (Dad, you?) brought me back to the task at hand, learning the circuit. Here I was, going 180 mph in the French countryside, in the rain, and night. Life just does not get much better, or much more interesting than this.

Talk to you tomorrow!

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) » More Photos
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.
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