ACTOR and racing driver Patrick Dempsey has had a full throttle of a year on the race track thus far, most notably earning a podium finish at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. The actor, nicknamed Dr McDreamy for his role as Derek Shepherd on long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, is an accomplished racer with the Dempsey Motor Racing Team. 

In his fourth attempt at Le Mans in June, Dempsey and his co-drivers raced 331 laps around the 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe at an average speed of 205 km/h in the Porsche 911 RSR, finishing second place in his category. 

The racing enthusiast’s interests also extend to timepieces, being the brand ambassador for Swiss watch manufacturer TAG Heuer, which also co-sponsors the Dempsey Racing Team. At a recent pit stop from his European races — the Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Nürburgring in Germany — Dempsey paid a visit to TAG Heuer at La-Chaux-de-Fonds. During the tour owner Jack Heuer and chief executive officer Jean-Claude Biver, he showed particular interest in the intricate inner workings of the watchmaking process. 

The actor’s infatuation in fact began with a vintage Monaco TAG Heuer watch made famous legendary actor and original motor maestro Steve McQueen in his 1971 film, LeMans. In an act of open emulation, Dempsey purchased the timepiece years ago, and most recently wore it to the Indy 500 early this year. 

One of the latest stars to front the sports-focused watch manufacturer’s “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign, Dempsey previously acknowledged that he wanted to live up to expectations, seeing as he’s speeding down the path of predecessors such as McQueen and Paul Newman as one of the few Hollywood stars who have found success on the race tracks. 

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on September 9, 2015.