Michael Fassbender: Road to Le Mans

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Fassbender lacks the inner psychopath that is many great driver’s mentor. Sometimes, all you are missing is self belief. He needs the team to pick him up.

I could not do half of what he’s done, but looking at it purely from a racing POV, I think the best can out doubt to the back of their minds. The very, very best can remain calm and calculated, at all times.

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I used to do sprints and hill limbs. I guy I knew who’d started racing told me I should join him, saying “you’ll never be quick your own car”.

You have to have that attitude.

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Yes, it’s common in many sports and disciplines; your ambition and love for it will invariably drive you to places where you are out of your depth. The moment a challenge is met and conquered, human nature pushes on to the next.

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Yellow491 said:

Digga said:

Yes, it’s common in many sports and disciplines; your ambition and love for it will invariably drive you to places where you are out of your depth. The moment a challenge is met and conquered, human nature pushes on to the next.

So very true digga,some folk thrive on the feeling,the difference though with most sports ,if you get to uncomfortable you can simply stop or back off,unlike some adventure sports where if you commit and not quite good enough death is the potential outcome, thats the real adrenaline pumper

Yes, I discovered a bit about that, aged 18, the wrong way up the second pitch of a four pitch climb. Downclimbing when you know you have no gear in and the belay is crap. I thought I was dead, possibly my mate too, and knew I was the only one who could do anything about it. Turns out I don’t panic, but I never want to test that out again.

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Yellow491 said:

At least you could climb down,think about those who are truly solo 4 pitches up

The Alex Honnold ‘Free Solo’ film is insane.

Only ever solo’d twice. Easy stuff, VDiff, 70 or 80ft, no more. Solo climbers are another level.

I see even AH has given it up free soloing for sport climbing.

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Wh00sher said:

Pretty surprised this series only has 7 pages.

I`m thoroughly enjoying Series 4, but the previous 3 have all been very high quality productions. The endings can be a bit annoying, they don`t need to leave a cliffhanger, I`ll watch the next episode anyway !

I can understand Leitz driving for the factory team, he`s a talent isn`t he. Although have Matt Campbell jump in as the Pro isn`t a bad replacement.

A window into a world I`ll never experience but hat`s off to Fassbender for having a go. I think most of us would relish the chance of anything like that if we had the money behind us to afford it.

Yes Campbell seems a very steady pair of hands. Old head on young shoulders.

I’d love to have a go but would really not think I’m up to the responsibility, let alone the task.

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Yellow491 said:

You can still die at 70 feet digga! I suppose taffy would need a walking stick now to go up mount cook
Solo is as nuts as squirrel suit flying at the top end,my kayaking expeditions were not much different,once you commit you cant stop and get off at the extreme end.Great doc on Netflix, aftershock,about the exped to everest and Langtang valley etc with the Nepali earthquakes,a place close to my heart.

You don’t die at 70ft, it’s the last foot of falling that is the most dangerous.

I’d love to go to the Himalayas. I’ve traveled a fair bit (enough) and have a very short bucket list, that and Terres del Paines are at the top.

Get kicks from mtb now. Eight of us out in Lakes last weekend in the snow and ice. All very experienced riders. Three came off on Saturday’s 19 miler. Was a real mission. No one badly hurt.

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Nurburgsingh said:

Ken Sington said:

Fassbender vs Dempsey; who is the better driver? Both actors, both Porsche fanatics.

isnt the team he's driving for Dempseys?

It’s quite the trick to be actor, racer and then successful team leader.

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RDMcG said:

Skin981 said:

Anyone who thinks they can drive should watch this sort’s the men from the boys.

Yes indeed...I learned many years ago the difference between an OK amateur and a proper racing driver. Have had the experience of some passenger laps with good racing drivers in the my own car.

There is simply no comparison.

Tim Harvey was kind enough to give me and handful of pax laps around Donington in his 991.2 GT3 RS MR. It was staggering, visceral, but just a road car.

Can’t really fully picture how it must feel in a full race car on slicks.

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bigmowley said:

I was a bit disappointed by series 4. The overriding feeling I got from it is that Michael Fassbender is just not quite cut out to be a racing driver. Don't get me wrong he is bloody impressive and can put in some great lap times. However there is just something missing in the psyche.

Having the team radio out to you what is coming up behind you in the dark is not a good place to be. For starters it is placing an unreasonable responsibility on other people in the team plus it is a distraction. As the driver you have to be 100% totally focussed on the job in hand and that includes managing the traffic. Yes its bloody scary when an LMP1 car blows past you about 3MM away but its up to you to manage the situation not the team. I was reminded of an earlier race, Monza I think, when it started raining on the warming up lap. He was straight on the radio asking the pro driver how to drive the car in the conditions. Christ man the only person who can do that is you, just feel for the grip, feel how the car reacts and drive accordingly.
When he got shoved into the barrier during the LeMans race he just sat there for god knows how long cogitating the inequities of life. Real racing drivers hit the start button and drag the car back to the pits, on willpower alone if necessary. The team actually had to tell him to give it a go.

I think there is quite a bit of over analysis going on and not enough relying on just how it feels. I suppose that is Hollywood for you.

Its easy to criticise but I can see it would be very easy to get overwhelmed. He’s been on a pretty fast track.

Okay, guys like Chris Hoy did very similar, but the gap, from Olympian to endurance racer is much less, IMHO, than from Hollywood.

I’d agree Fasbender had needed an awful lot of moral and emotional support, but I can fully appreciate how easy it would be for self doubt to take over.

Schuey_911 said:

Richard Lietz is a legend, what a driver and humble too.

Only other guys I see this in is professional cyclists. Saw my mate earlier today; was a world champ and Olympic athlete and I’d say at least half the people who know him have no idea. Modesty is a gift.

Lietz is a hero.

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Schuey_911 said:

To be honest, the only reason I watch it, is because it's Porsche Motorsport and love seeing the stuff that happens in the background that we normally wouldn't see watching the racing on Eurosport.

But as far as Fassbender is concerned, I just find him a bit of a whinger and find that quite annoying. Clearly he's a physically fit guy but don't believe he has the racer mindset.

I think, given his celebrity status, it’s perhaps been easy for him to suffer acute imposter syndrome. The fact the whole team have his back seems to suggest they believe he has what it takes, if only he believed it too. What he’s done so far is no mean feat.