Despite leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans after the fourth hour of running, a podium finish was not to be for the No. 77 Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 RSR today. Patrick Long took the start and, through stellar driving and perfect strategy calls from the team, led not only the entire GTE-AM class in his opening quadruple stint at La Sarthe, but also all of the “faster” GTE-PRO cars as well. Long and teammates Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster delivered consistently quick lap times throughout the 24-hour marathon, but a three minute stop-and-hold penalty for spinning their wheels in pit lane, and a brief trip to the garage for a mechanical repair dampened the team’s hopes for a podium.
Long said, “We certainly could have done more this year. Still I’m satisfied with our performance as a team. Our car didn’t have the slightest technical problem and Patrick improved constantly and posted super times. Not everyone can climb the podium at Le Mans. If it was that easy then everyone would have a Le Mans trophy at home.”
His teammate Patrick Dempsey said, “I drove really well, didn’t make any mistakes and my pace improved constantly. We all did a great job against such tough competition and I’m happy with the result and the team’s great performance. I’ll definitely be back at Le Mans next year.”
Many thanks to the Dempsey Racing team and family for all the support throughout Le Mans week. Long will race next in the Tudor United Sportscar Championship at Canadian Tire Park (Mosport), outside of Toronto, on July 11-13.