Dr Dreamy, Grey’s Anatomy’ star Patrick Dempsey is to race a Lola LMP2 car in the American Le Mans Series 2012. The multi-talented actor is branching out.
Dempsey Racing has confirmed plans to race in the American Le Mans Series 2012 with a Lola B12/80 LMP2 coupe chassis. Team Principal Patrick Dempsey – star of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and a number of Hollywood titles, will race the Huntingdon designed and built LMP2 coupe.
The team is gearing up for a possible debut at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May before competing in more races in this year’s American Le Mans Series. Dempsey and his team partners Joe Foster (team principal/driver) and Henri Richard (Silicon Tech Racing) have stated it is also their intention to race at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours. The Lola B12/80 LMP2 coupe will be powered by Judd.
Dempsey, who established the Dempsey Racing team in 2003 has a real passion for the sport and has participated in many racing series, including ALMS and Grand-Am. The partnership between Dempsey Racing and Lola is an exciting time for the British company, who have achieved a number of accolades in recent years including taking the 2011 ALMS manufacturers title and finishing as the highest placed petrol powered car at Le Mans last year.
On the partnership with Lola, Patrick Dempsey said, “It is no secret that I really enjoyed my experience at Le Mans in 2009. Lola is a famous name throughout the world of racing. I kind of knew what they did at Indy and in sports cars from when I was a kid. I am relishing driving this brand new LMP2 design”.
Lola Executive Chairman, Martin Birrane said, “We welcome Dempsey Racing in to the Lola LMP family. Patrick, Joe and the team have shown in recent years that they are a professional and ambitious team but also one that recognises they need expertise and cutting edge technology and so have chosen to partner with Lola who will provide the very latest LMP2 design and engineering know-how for their programme. It has been a pleasure to work with the Dempsey team to make this announcement possible and we appreciate and recognise their methodical approach to racing”.