It's not uncommon for Hollywood actors who are passionate gearheads to become racing drivers. Patrick Dempsey has ambitions of becoming a full time racing driver having competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans among many other disciplines, while the legendary Steve McQueen used his real-life racing experience to produce the infamous 1971 Le Mans movie, a passion project which ultimately flopped. Michael Fassbender can now also be added to the growing list of Hollywood actors turned racing drivers.
Best known for playing Magneto in the X-Men series as well as a recent starring role in Alien: Covenant, Fassbender will be competing in the North American Ferrari Challenge series. A self-confessed Ferrari and Formula One fanatic, Fassbender started training with Ferrari's "Corsa Pilota" driving program last year, and has already competed in the first round of the 2017 North American Ferrari Challenge racing series at the Laguna SECA circuit. "Ferrari is defined by racing, and training with the Ferrari team gave me a great foundation to hone my skills behind the wheel of the 488 Challenge race car," says Fassbender.
"From a very early age I idolized Ferrari and its champion, Michael Schumacher, in particular, so now racing in the Ferrari Challenge brings that dream full circle." Fassbender honed a Ferrari 488 Challenge race car in the single-model series. Not only is it the first turbocharged Ferrari Challenge car, it's also the fastest thanks to a twin-turbo 3.9-liter V8 that produces 661 horsepower. He will go on to compete in the rest of the season to fuel his passion for racing, with the next round taking place at Montreal at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from June 9 through 11. Sadly, Fassbender's first stint didn't go according to plan, as he finished in 17th place overall and 11th in his class.
In the second race, he finished 11th overall and earned a respectable sixth place in his class. Anyone who has just as much talent on the track as they do in front of a camera has our respect. We could well be looking at the next Steve McQueen as the new king of cool. Did we also happen to mention that Fassbender doesn't even own a car?
