Last weekend, Patrick Dempsey returned to Le Mans for a once-in-a-lifetime experience to drive Mazda’s 787B around Circuit de la Sarthe, part of the Japanese manufacturers’ 20th anniversary celebration of it historic win. But as it turns out, the multi-talented actor/racer wasn’t just in France to turn a few demonstration laps.

SPEED.com has learned that Dempsey is in the evaluation stages of a possible LMP2 program for next year’s 24-hour endurance classic, which could also include a full-season entry in the new FIA World Endurance Championship.

“I would love to come back here with Mazda,” Dempsey told SPEED.com. “That’s certainly a lot of what we were there to do [last weekend], to help bring that awareness and start to put certain elements together. Once you’ve [driven] Le Mans, you have to do it again. It was a life-changing experience in such a positive way for me.”

Dempsey made his Le Mans debut in 2009 at the wheel of an AF Corse-run Ferrari F430 GT with longtime team partner Joe Foster and Team Seattle’s Don Kitch Jr. The trio finished ninth in the GT2 category that year. It was that race that clearly ignited Dempsey’s ambitions of returning not only as a driver, but also with his own team.

Now with two full seasons under its belt in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, highlighted by a win last year and a podium finish in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, Dempsey Racing could be the latest American squad to mount an attack on the global sportscar championship.

“I definitely want to do something under the Dempsey Racing banner,” he said. “I think, ultimately, it would be really nice to have two cars [at Le Mans]. I think that would help us in the development and certainly that shared knowledge helps. We’re really learning that now in GRAND-AM.”

While Mazda has yet to confirm plans of an LMP2 effort, as it would require an all-new powerplant different from its two-liter MZR-R turbo that powers Dyson Racing’s Lolas in the American Le Mans Series, Mazda Motorsports North America director John Doonan said they’re evaluating such a possibility for 2012.

SpeedSource has been commissioned by Mazda to carry out a study to see how its new production-based SKYACTIV platform of engines could be used in GT and prototype racing. A diesel-powered version is also being explored, according to Racecar Engineering.

“Any time one of our Mazda race teams or anyone wants to go back to an event of significance like Le Mans, it makes us happy,” Doonan told SPEED.com. “We’re in the process of accessing our overall motorsports strategy. We’ll try to support any team that wishes to go back to compete at such a prestigious race.

“Clearly in the case of Patrick, specifically with his program, it was evident last week that he has a lot of fans in France. If ever there was a day that the goals of Mazda and Patrick’s dream of racing there in a Mazda were to align, that would be a great thing for everyone involved.”

LMP2 could to be the best fit for Dempsey. With Pro-Am driver pairings now enforced in the new-look category, Dempsey said it would give he and Foster a fighting chance for victories. The ACO has also laid out revised rules, including the use of cost-capped chassis and engine packages, that effectively eliminates the possibility of full factory teams as seen in previous years.

“LMP2 is definitely the way to go,” Dempsey said. “It would be great for Joe [Foster] and I. That’s something we’re looking at doing because the atmosphere in Europe is so much greater. The passion for road racing and their knowledge of all the drivers and their history is quite exciting. We get a glimpse of that at some tracks like Montreal in the Rolex Series. But [at Le Mans], it’s really, really special.”

If he’s able to pull off a two-car effort, Dempsey said he’d like to have a mix of nationalities behind the wheel of the prototypes, including drivers from Japan and France in addition to he and Foster.

With the green light having not yet been given, it’s still early days in Dempsey’s dream of mounting an attack on next year’s twice-around-the-clock classic. But it’s clear the desire is there.

“I always feel very comfortable at Le Mans for some reason,” Dempsey said. “I love the atmosphere and you feel the history. There’s only a few places that you get that feeling, perhaps Indy and here. And when it comes to endurance racing, this is it. This is the [Mount] Everest.”