Michael Fassbender hasn’t been in a movie since the 2019 release X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which came out in the summer, but that’s not to say he’s been idling around his mansion, eating junk food, doing nothing and generally letting himself go. Far from it, actually.
For car enthusiasts, Fassbender’s name is perhaps a familiar one even if they haven’t watched any of his movies, seen the jokes / memes post-Shame, or ever heard that he’s actually an Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actor for 12 Years a Slave in 2014). Fassbender is also into racing and, some years back, he vowed to make his way to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most famous endurance race.
He’s been working his way up to that goal, and his next step is a debut at the European Le Mans Series, which starts on July 19 in France, and will include races in Belgium (August 9), Spain (August 29), Italy (October 11) and Portugal (November 1). Fassbender is racing for Proton Competition and is part of a team with Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Felipe Fernández Laser (Germany). They’re racing in the No. 93 Porsche 911 RSR.
Fassbender has been with Porsche ever since the beginning of the journey as a pro race driver. His initiation was with the Porsche Driving Experience, with a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, followed by the Porsche Racing Experience program. Last year, he completed Level 2 of the program, an entire season of the Porsche Sports Cup Deutschland, in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
His progress so far has been documented in a Porsche-sponsored documentary aptly called Road to Le Mans. The first season, comprising of six episodes, is available in its entirety on YouTube.
“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,” Fassbender says in a press release.
Fans of the actor and budding pro racer will be able to tag along for the journey – but will have to wait a while longer for it: Porsche says a second season of the documentary series drops in late 2020.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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