Watching a wealthy actor attempt to be a race car driver is typically pretty boring stuff. There are exceptions, of course. Patrick Dempsey can wheel. Paul Newman was a hero in a car. Adam Carolla typically pushes his own fleet of vintage race cars pretty hard. Gene Hackman ran at the 24 Hours of Daytona, as has Craig T. Nelson. Often though, you see someone with fame try to make the easy path into top-tier motorsport. Micahel Fassbender is an actor who has the bug to go racing too, and he’s actually doing it. Porsche has documented his journey and is now up to its 4th season. I’m here to tell you this is the most interesting motorsport mini-series out there at the moment.
We’re eight episodes into this season so far (at the time of this writing), and I’ve truly enjoyed every single one. Fassbender presents himself as a man who desperately wants to race yet fears messing up even a little bit. This is because endurance racing is a team sport, and if you crash that car, that means a lot of folks are going home early and disappointed. But he’s putting in the time, and there’s no denying his attempts here are 100% genuine and focused. The goal is to run at Le Mans. And it’s entertaining as hell to come along for the journey.
I recommend you carve out some time and catch up before the next episode comes out on January 13th.
It’s not just the drama, of course, though there is plenty of it. This series is incredibly well-shot and edited. You have great in-car footage, lovely exterior stuff, and then intriguing interviews with everyone involved. Give it a shot.
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