Total 911: Do you miss your professional career in motorsport?
Patrick Long: The short answer is yes. However, the longer answer is, not yet. It’s been about a year and there are so many things that I’ve put aside, both physically and mentally, over the past 25 years that the to-do list isn’t just about recharging and sleeping within one time zone for longer than a week. I’ll also be getting creative, building some spaces and executing on some ideas, and being accessible for some of the teams that have relied on me. Not just Porsche Cars North America and Porsche Motorsport North America [PMNA], but also my team at Luft.
This past year I’ve felt every bit as passionate and every bit as busy. The only difference is that I don’t have those long, triple stints in the middle of the night.
Have you always had a plan for when you hang up your racing gloves, or have these new projects developed organically?
I think there’s a part of a professional racing driver and maybe all professional athletes that’s fuelled by fear. Not fear on the track, but fear of what happens when the well runs dry. What am I going to do next?
I’ve been doing the same thing since I was seven, so I don’t have many other talents, interests or networks. From the beginning of chasing a dream of racing cars professionally, my dad always said to be realistic – it was a tough avenue and that there were so many people who dream of having this opportunity.
