Dempsey Racing will add a touch of pink to its Rolex 24 at Daytona campaign, having teamed up with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and reliveried its #40 Mazda RX-* to highlight the cause.

The predominantly black-and-white machine, to be driven by actor Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster and Charles Espenlaub, will now carry a swathe of lurid pink down the centre of the car as it competes in the GT class of the Grand-Am Rolex Series opener over 24-25 January.

"Real men can wear pink," insisted Dempsey, who races in the Rolex Series when his filming schedule for popular television series Grey's Anatomy allows, "All of us at Dempsey Racing are proud to partner with the Avon Foundation in its fight against breast cancer. By wearing pink on our suits and on our cars, we hope to raise awareness for this important cause and for an extraordinary series of events, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. "

Dempsey made his first start in the Rolex 24 last year, his first of ten races in 2008, and will look to better the ninth place he achieved in Montreal with Hyper Sport, which he co-owns with Foster, who brings success in the KONI Sports Car Challenge Grand Sports championship - which he won alongside Hyper Sport co-driver Scott Maxwell - in 2008. The team's Rolex effort will now be run under the new Dempsey Racing banner.

"I am so proud to support the cause, which raises funds that directly save lives," Dempsey continued, "While two very different types of endurance events, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and sportscar racing have the common tie of the mental and physical stamina required to achieve success. With that juxtaposition in mind, a special contest for top fundraisers of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer will be unveiled during the Rolex 24."