At 231kmh, it’s Michael Fast-bender
DRAMATIC footage of Irish actor Michael Fassbender crashing his Porsche on a German race track is shown in a new documentary series on his white-knuckle ride into the world of motorsport racing.
The real-life footage is captured on an in-car camera for a new YouTube documentary series called Road to Le Mans on his high-octane journey to the world’s endurance car race.
Footage showing the Killarney actor clocking up dizzying speeds as he spins around the rain-soaked track shows this is not just a celebrity jaunt into the sport.
The gripping series, which will be posted to YouTube weekly, tracks the X-Men star’s ambitious bid to get to the grid at the Le Mans 24 Hours which is arguably the most prestigious motorsport event in the world. The actor is seen clocking speeds of up to 231km an hour around the wet track. The actor says his senses have to be hyper aware as he races. ‘It’s kind of not thinking too much and sort of about being very present and awake and aware and ready for what happens.’ He was very happy with his time on the Saturday but on Sunday his Porsche slid off the track after hitting an oil patch. As he was speeding up to catch up with the rest of the race cars it shows the Irish driver appearing to clip another car hitting the safety barrier on the opposite side of the track.
‘I’m OK, I’m OK,’ said the Irish actor over the radio to his team.
Afterwards he winces as he tells the cameras he feels ‘pretty stupid’. But he was reassured by his team that he didn’t have space to manoeuvre when he crashed.
The 42-year-old actor is very serious about his track career which is currently taking precedence over his career on the big screen. He has raced 19 times since his debut in 2017 with 15 top ten finishes.
The second episode can be seen at Porsche.com/RoadtoLeMans on October 18.