Fassbender Returns with Porsche on the ‘Road to Le Mans’
Actor Michael Fassbender’s pursuit of a seat at the Le Mans 24 enters its second season on Porsche’s website starting Oct. 23.
How many of you caught 300 on the silver screen? Perhaps you have Band of Brothers or 12 Years a Slave in your Blu-ray collection? What about that copy of Fable III on your PC? All of these titles have one thing in common: Michael Fassbender. The Irish-German actor’s filmography, along with the many award nominations and wins, are nothing to sneeze at at all.
Nor is Fassbender’s attempt to gain a seat at one of the biggest stages of all, the Le Mans 24. Through the German Porsche Racing Experience, he’s been working his way up to the big dance, all documented in the Porsche series Road to Le Mans. And if you thought the first season was wild, wait until October 23, when the second season begins.
“This season, it’s a different league to the Sports Cup,” said Fassbender. “I’ve definitely made a large step into something way more professional across the board. It’s a whole different playing field, and it feels like a totally different league.”
According to Motorsport.com, Fassbender’s racing career began in 2017 in the Ferrari Challenge North America series prior to jumping into a 911 GT3 Cup in 2019.
This year, the actor is in the thick of it in the five-round European Le Mans Series. Sharing a ride with factory driver Richard Leitz and 2019 Nurburgring 24 class winner Felipe Fernandez Laser, Fassbender carries the flag for Proton Competition in the team’s 2017-spec 911 RSR.
Should Fassbender eventually reach the top of endurance racing’s greatest peak, he would be in great company. The late Paul Newman drove a 935 with Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour in the 1979 Le Mans 24, finishing second overall and winning the gold in the IMSA +2.5 class.
Meanwhile, fellow current actor Patrick Dempsey has been a mainstay on the endurance circuit since 2009, campaigning Porsches since 2013. Dempsey’s best placing at Le Mans arrived in 2015 in a Proton-owned 911 RSR. There, he, Patrick Long, and Marco Seefried took home silver in GTE Am. As team owner of Dempsey-Proton, he’d claim the top spot three years later in the same class.
To see how far Fassbender goes in his pursuit, head over to porsche.com/roadtolemans on October 23.
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