Patrick Dempsey, Porsche team finish fourth at Le Mans

Actor and driver Patrick Dempsey and his Dempsey Del Piero Racing team finished fourth in their class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Dempsey and co-driver Patrick Long, a Porsche test driver, led the race twice and Joe Foster was able to race among the top three in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

Dempsey, who many know from his starring role in Grey's Anatomy, also competed in the race in 2009. He was ninth that year.

Long had GT class wins on the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2004 and 2007.

"We were competitive the entire race," Dempsey said in a team release. "This is really what you want to be, Patrick did a great job on his opening stint, Joe was incredible in what seemed like every session of his in the rain, and our Porsche from Proton Competition was perfectly prepared. It was just a great race, we came up just a little short on the podium, but we will reach that goal soon enough. We had a great time."

Dempsey's return to what was the 90th running of the 24-hour sports car endurance race will be featured in a four-part miniseries premiering Aug. 28.

Long said racing while knowing of the death of Danish driver Allan Simonsen was 'the biggest mental challenge I have ever had," according to the team release.

Long and Simonsen were friends and raced together off and on for more than a dozen years.

"I had some choked up moments in the car at 200 mph," Long said via team release. "... I spent 13 years with Allan and we met when we were working hourly at a race school in England. I was with him just an hour before the race. It made me think about the old days, when accidents like this happened once a race and how those guys just strapped in and did the next one. It is not like that now but that's no consolation for me. It is just a freakin' shame, he was a great guy."

PHOTOS: Actor and driver Patrick Dempsey