Demsey Race Team #9 at Le Mans with El Grado
Dempsey, Foster and Kitch Persevere For Ninth Place Finish in
24 Hours of Le Mans Debut with Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle
Dempsey and Foster Carry Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Ferrari F430 GT to Finish
LE MANS, France (June 14, 2009) – Teammates Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster carried the No. 81 Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Ferrari F430 GT they shared with Don Kitch Jr. to a solid ninth-place GT class finish in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans where all three drivers were making their debuts in the classic endurance race.
Dempsey, who was at the wheel for more than nine hours in one of the best performances of his career, drove the No. 81 Ferrari across the finish line and received an ovation from the enthusiastic French crowd second only to overall winners and national favorites Peugeot.
“The last hour I was just focused on not making a mistake,” said Dempsey who moved the Ferrari into ninth place in the highly competitive GT class a little over two hours from the finish. “You felt like that through the entire night, anyway, but even more so at the end. Around the last 10 minutes you could see the pace of everybody slowing down and the celebration started. Then it was just such a relief.”
Dempsey has been racing with, and more recently, motorsports business partners with Foster for six years. At Le Mans this weekend the duo combined for one of their most impressive and certainly longest races after Kitch fell ill with a severe head and chest cold earlier this week. After a pair of opening stints early in the race, Kitch’s only other shift came on Sunday morning. Dempsey and Foster combined to drive for more than 20 hours.
“This is like a win,” Dempsey said. “To be here and be in the top 10, it’s like a win to me. I have never driven so much in my entire life. I battled to stay focused. We knew that Don was sick in the last 12 to 15 hours and we had to double up. It was just unbelievable and this is Joe’s life-long dream.”
Foster did reach a goal he set as young child. He drove well over 10 hours at Le Mans and was consistently the team’s fastest driver.
“I feel like we climbed a big mountain just to be here,” Foster said. “There are so many friend and family members from when I was a little kid in go karts to now who helped me do this. This was an amazing experience and it exceeded all of our expectations. This was my dream and I am just so grateful to have shared this with Patrick. We had a plan that we followed regardless of what anybody else said or did and that was what worked.”
All three drivers frequently talked about how much of a learning experience Le Mans was and Dempsey, for one, is walking away with quite a bit of knowledge.
“I will take away so much from this race that I will now apply to every other race that I am in,” Dempsey said. “It comes to pacing and just being smart when it comes to endurance racing. You have to find a pace and not get caught up in other people’s races.”
While Kitch’s time behind the wheel was limited due to his unforeseen illness, the 24 Hours of Le Mans still represented a victory for his Team Seattle/Racing for Children program. More than a quarter million dollars was raised from donations and lap pledges up to and during the race.
“I felt terrible the last few days but deep down I am so happy for what we were able to accomplish for the children,” said Kitch, who is planning to retire from racing at the end of this season. “This program has been a big part of our lives and I am happy we were able to bring it to Le Mans.”
The No. 81 Ferrari ran consistently and competitively the entire race and was prepared by AF Corse, the top European sports car team. The Italian-based organization was as professional as any team the drivers have ever raced with and the Ferrari only had minor issues that could be described as typical in endurance racing.
The No. 81 Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Ferrari was one of 17 entries in the GT2 class. Support for the effort came from El Grado Spirits, LLC, SeeLiveSurgery.tv, @SportsTV and Racing for Children in support of the Seattle Children’s Hospital and French partner hospital Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque.
Next up for Dempsey Racing is next Saturday’s EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Dempsey and Foster will race the No. 40 El Grado/Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8 in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GT class.
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