Grey's Anatomy star and avid racer Patrick Dempsey will be returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013 after last racing in the endurance classic in 2009 at the wheel of a Ferrari F430 GT.

This time around Dempsey will be racing with Porsche, using a 911 GT3 RSR race car fielded by his own team, Dempsey Racing, in collaboration with Italy’s Del Piero Racing and Germany’s Proton Competition in the GTE-Am.

Dempsey’s was one of 56 entries chosen by Le Mans organizer ACO from an overall field of 71 entries.

“It's a dream come true,” Dempsey tweeted after hearing the news.

The 47-year-old has been racing with Mazda for the past several years though the two parted ways at the start of the 2013 season, with the Japanese automaker focusing on its own efforts, including racing a diesel-powered Mazda6 in the GX class in Grand-Am.

Along with the 24-hour race at Le Mans, Dempsey Racing, together with Del Piero Racing, will also field a pair of Porsche 911 race cars in the GTC class in the 2013 American Le Mans Series.

Of course, Porsche is making its own return to Le Mans this year, competing initially in the GTE class together with Team Manthey. The works team will field two 911 RSR race cars based on the latest Type-991 Porsche 911.

This should add plenty of excitement to the already thrilling race, though things won’t really heat up until 2014 when Porsche challenges Audi and Toyota in the top LMP1 class.

This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race commences on June 22.