Following in the footsteps of Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Patrick Dempsey, Michael Fassbender is the latest actor set to compete at the highest levels of auto racing.
Widely known for his roles as Magneto in the X-Men franchise and portraying Apple founder Steve Jobs, the German-Irish actor will drive a Porsche 911 RSR for Proton Competition in the 2020 season of the European Le Mans Series.
“Even before I started acting I had a big dream to go racing. It was clear to me at a young age. My father was an avid driver and he taught me a lot,” says Fassbender, describing his motor racing passion.
Currently the star of a new YouTube series called “Road to Le Mans“, the Porsche-produced series follows the early steps of Fassbender’s journey from novice pilot to eventual (fingers crossed) Le Mans competitor.
On the way to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 42-year-old last year completed Level 2 of the Porsche training programme. For this, Fassbender contested an entire season of the Porsche Sports Cup Deutschland driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
The 2020 season of the European Le Mans Series is made up of six events, starting at Le Castellet (France) on 19 July. Each event includes a four-hour race. Fassbender will compete for Proton Competition in the LM GTE class – the GT category of the long-distance series.
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