Dempsey Confirms LM24 Entry, Seeking Additional Partners

Photo: Richard Dole/Dempsey Racing

Dempsey Racing is set for a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, following the confirmation of its entry for the GTE-Am category.

The Georgia-based squad will again team up with German Porsche specialists Proton Competition in fielding the No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR for Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster and a to-be announced third co-driver.

While the final budget for the team’s return is still being put into place, both co team principals are upbeat about finding additional partners to secure their Le Mans effort.

“We are working diligently to finish putting the partners in place to return to Le Mans in June and contend for the GTE-Am victory,” Foster said. “We have often said that it takes more than a full year to adequately prepare for Le Mans for any given year, but we don’t have that luxury this time around.

“Fortunately, having the familiarity and support with Porsche and Proton is a huge benefit and we have to approach this year’s race from a new level of experience and attention to detail, both from a marketing and competition perspective.”

Dempsey, Foster and Porsche factory driver Patrick Long teamed for a fourth-place finish in class last year, just narrowly missing the GTE-Am podium in the team’s debut.

This time around, the Dempsey-Proton effort will utilize one of Porsche’s new 991-based 911 RSRs, which will run in 2013-spec. The team is currently in the first of a two-year brand and promotional partnership with the German manufacturer.

“It is an honor but also a somewhat humbling and certainly daunting task to now have to actually put all of the pieces in place to be able to race at Le Mans just four months from now, but we are up to the challenge,” Dempsey added.

The final driver is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

While Long appears to be the team’s preferred choice, it’s unclear where the American Porsche factory driver will be placed for the race, particularly with two potentially open seats in the Porsche Team Manthey factory squad in GTE-Pro.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John