Patrick Dempsey has made "sacrifices" to get his marriage back on track.

Asked if they are back together, he said: "Yeah, I think so. You have to work at everything. And you cannot do everything. Something has to be sacrificed."

And it seems the sacrifice is the 50-year-old star's beloved motorsports.

He owns his own racing team, and though it finished an impressive second at the famous Le Mans 24-hour race last year, he is now taking a step back to focus on his family life.

He told ES magazine: "I've sort of stepped back -- I'm the team owner, but time goes by so quickly with my kids that I don't want to miss that.

"Last year we had a good team, and a good car, it was the right moment... where I could focus 100 per cent on doing a full season. Now it's time to put that personal philosophy into my kids, allowing them to find their goals, their passions."

Patrick admitted he is conscious of setting a good example to his children with his work.

He said: "You do think: how much violence is in the script? Is it necessary violence? Is this the right step for the career? Does this change the game?"

Though Jillian filed for divorce over a year ago, Patrick failed to file a response and, according to TMZ, the make-up artist has now received a legal document warning the case could be dismissed if no further action is taken.

It was previously claimed Jillian had agreed to a reconciliation if the former 'Grey's Anatomy' star agreed to curb his hobby.

A source previously said: "It's incredibly exciting for all their friends and family, but Jillian wouldn't never have accepted unless he agreed to slow down on his motorsports racing.

"It was devastating when they split and he's still not out of the woods yet.

"Jillian wants to take things slow, as though they were dating for the first time, and rebuild from scratch before renewing their vows.

"Patrick thinks it's a shame to have to quit racing but he's determined to not mess things up.

"He loves that woman and they've gone through so much together, and he's doing everything she asks him to do."