Dempsey Out, Valverde In for 12H Sebring

Patrick Dempsey will miss the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring due to a last-minute filming commitment, Sportscar365 has confirmed.

Dempsey was due to share the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America with Jan Heylen and Madison Snow.

Emilio Valverde, another Bronze-rated driver, will fill in for the actor/driver this week. Valverde has one past TUDOR Championship start, having shared the No. 556 Level 5 Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 in the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Heylen, Snow, Dempsey and Phillip Eng finished third at this year’s Rolex 24.

“It is very disappointing that I will miss Sebring, but at the end of the day, Grey’s Anatomy is my first priority,” Dempsey said. “Grey’s has done an incredible job freeing up my schedule for as many races as possible. I am very grateful for all of the support that they have given me.

“The podium at Daytona was a fantastic start for the Dempsey Wright team. We did great testing in the Beautyrest Black Porsche, so I felt confident of a good result in the Sebring 12 Hour.

“I am happy that Emilio Valverde has agreed to be my ‘stand in’ for the weekend. Madison and Jan will do their usual stellar job, and will keep the No. 58 car up front. Thanks again to Beautyrest Black, Brumos, and Porsche for their strong support and understanding.”