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Cinema will come to the Sarthe at the ninetieth edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11 and 12. Hollywood actor and Porsche driver Michael Fassbender will star in his long-awaited debut in the legendary endurance race.
For the past three years, the 45-year-old entertainer has been preparing intensely for his most outstanding performance in the motorsports world.
During the race, Fassbender, known for his performances in X-Men and Inglourious Basterds, among other films, will take two shifts behind the wheel of the Porsche Proton Competition customer team’s 911 RSR.
The other two drivers of the Porsche 911 number 93 belonging to the GTE-Am category are the Australian Matt Campbell and the Canadian Zacharie Robichon.
Fassbender’s racing career began a few years ago when he met his partner Patrick Dempsey on a long-haul flight from London to Los Angeles.
After a lively conversation, the former Le Mans driver (also an actor) and co-proprietary of the Dempsey-Proton Racing team got in touch with Porsche Motorsport Marketing. During Fassbender’s visit to Le Mans in 2018, a strategy was defined to support the actor in Road to Le Mans (‘Journey to Le Mans). Like the title of the YouTube series that tells the adventure of the rookie driver.
He took his first steps at the Porsche Driving Experience school, where he enjoyed the programs taught there to car enthusiasts. The following points of the plan contemplated courses in the Porsche Racing Experience, a season in the German Porsche Sports Cup, and some special appearances in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the wheel of the 911 GT3 Cup.
With the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his sights, Fassbender tackled the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) with the Proton Competition team during the 2020 season. Together with his teammates, the Austrian Richard Lietz and the German Felipe Fernández Laser, the Heidelberg-born actor and driver scored 47 points in four races, in sixth place in the GTE category. With the same driver team, Fassbender collected 61 points from six races the following year and finished fifth in the standings.
The season highlight was his second place in the last round of the season, held in Portimão (Portugal) at the end of October 2021. It was my first podium in ELMS, something fundamental for everyone on the team. After all the disappointments, occasional setbacks, and missed opportunities over the past three years, that result was pure joy.
Like all newcomers at the French Endurance Classic, Fassbender had to meet some prerequisites before heading out for his first few kilometers on the legendary racing circuit. For beginners, the rules require a test in the simulator. Here, the drivers must familiarize themselves with the safety car, the slow zones, and other safety measures that set this circuit apart.
His journey was portrayed in the YouTube series Road to Le Mans, with more than 75 million views. In the 24 existing episodes to date, this documentary shows the ups and downs experienced by the protagonist in the last three years. It also offers an exclusive and fascinating look inside the world of racing and the brand motorsport department.
The third season is currently available on the Porsche site.
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