Patrick Dempsey has not taken an active role as a race driver since the 2015 WEC season, instead becoming a partner of the Dempsey Proton Racing team that sends out the Porsche 911 RSR with starting number 77. Even though more recently he has been supporting his team from the other side of the crash barriers, Dempsey nevertheless remains a seasoned race driver who knows what it takes to deliver fast laps.

We’re here at Le Mans, the fans are back and the atmosphere has a real buzz. Does it remind you of your days racing here?

For sure, I think the first time I came here was with Don Panoz, those days in 2005 and I remember walking down the front straight going, 'God, I wish I could be here one day' and I was in 2009. It's changed a lot, the dynamics have changed, certainly the way manufacturers in the prototype class. This is the first year since COVID where you start to feel like the energy's back again and the racing is brilliant, just look at the size of the field, it's great.

Proton Competition ran five cars at Le Mans, including two Dempsey-Proton Porsche RSR- 19’S. The team have always given the opportunity to younger and less experienced drivers who are coming through the ranks. Seb Priaulx is just another example of this, how do you rate his performance?

Seb did a great first stint, you know he was very nervous getting in the car, which is natural. I really love these guys, it's very moving so it's hard for me to articulate because you feel for them so much, you know they're living a dream. When I stopped driving and I talked to Christian (Ried) and I talked to Porsche, I asked the question; what can we do to really give these young drivers an opportunity to have the experience knowing it's a big risk? We’ve really enjoyed a fun time auditioning these guys and watching them come through and develop. It's like you see Matt (Campbell) and Julien (Andelauer) these guys that have gone on and it's a real pleasure to see. I think with Christian’s son, he's getting to the age now where I would really love to see him in the car next year so they can at least have a year together, father and son would be a beautiful thing to see at Le Mans. So, we're going to push for that for next year.

Michael Fassbender took part in his first ever 24 Hours of Le Mans, here joins the club of actor turned racing driver. He of course has developed under the guidance of Richard Lietz as you did alongside Patrick Long. How do you think Michael’s Le Mans went?

My time at the beginning, I certainly had a little bit more experience than Michael has but I really have so much respect for him, what he's done in such a short period of time, to be here at the deep end of the pool, it's a lot to manage. You've got a lot of eyes on you, he has incredible natural ability, if we can just get him enough seat time to develop, he's going to be really, really quick. He's doing a great job now managing everything. What's wonderful about Porsche is how they develop the drivers, their sense of culture and support that you get, there's never any judgement. It's like, okay, what's the strength? What's the weakness? How can we improve upon that? How do we work together as a team to support it? It's been some of the greatest experiences of my life with Patrick Long and all of the factory drivers, everyone in the paddock has been very supportive and you want to pay that back, it's sort of your job and I think you see a lot of drivers who are no longer in the car, they come back and they do that. I learned a lot from them and they set the example now, it's my turn to be able to do that, so I wish Michael a lot of luck and he's going to be great. It's just a question of how you're going to balance your professional life and if you're doing a movie, they won't let you race. It’s just a question of seat time and developing him and he's got a great team around him with Richie (Lietz). You know when Richie's here it's sort of the end of an era in many ways with this race and then the beginning of a new one next year so, it's a lot of mixed emotions for everybody.

As co team owner, what is your roles and responsibilities at the Le Mans weekend?

I try to support the drivers in any way I can, I understand what they're going through, I know where they're at and if they're doing a single and then the transition right before they're going into your second or their third, what are they going to need when they get out of the car? The young guys, I just want to give them confidence and make them feel and let them just remember the belief in themselves and forget about this or that. So that means a lot to me and I love it.

The crew as well, they're working so hard and they've had such a long week that you want to be here in the garage with them and just keep being the cheerleader, keep the energy up and keep them focused. If we're really far down and everyone's tired then I'll go back and shower and get myself together and be strong for the rest of the morning because once the sun comes up, you've still got a long way to go. Le Mans is a brutal race, you start at 4 pm, so as soon as the sun comes up you’ve still got a long way to go. The emphasis lies with being consistent and not making any mistakes because as soon as you make a mistake then the train goes by.