The first ever FIA World Endurance Championship race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit on Saturday (3rd September) saw plenty of drama during the 6 Hours of Mexico, the fifth round of the 2016 WEC season.
With variable weather seeing periods of dry, wet and damp conditions, Pipo Derani overcame the adversities and reached his fourth LMP2 podium position in the 2016 FIA WEC.
Alongside teammates Ryan Dalziel and Chris Cumming, aboard the No. 31 Ligier JS P2 Nissan of the Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsports team, Derani was third in the race and celebrated the result at the home of Tequila Patrón, the team sponsor which has its headquarters in the country.
After being in the top five during the free practices, the trio of Tequila Patrón started from 10th place for the event on Saturday. Derani started the race and was soon in to the top-six, before handing the cockpit over to Chris Cumming. The Canadian driver was unfortunate to be involved in an incident with another car and as a result the No.31 Ligier-Nissan lost some positions.
A fine recovery drive though soon saw ground being made on their opponents and Derani delivered another impressive performance in the final hours to ensure a podium position. “It was a tough race, with many incidents in the beginning and we were racing close to the back of the LMP2 field”, said the Brazilian.
“But it was amazing to get the podium, especially here in Mexico, home of Patrón, which brought 735 guests from the factory and it was very nice to share this result with all of them”, continued the 22 year-old driver.
“Now we will continue our work seeking to evolve more. We have achieved four podiums in five races, so it’s been a very good championship, despite the difficulties we have faced. I want to thank the team for all the effort and also to congratulate Ricardo (Gonzalez), Bruno (Senna) and Filipe (Albuquerque), who did a great job”, concluded Derani, who raced at the Mexican circuit for the first time.
The FIA WEC now heads to North America and the drivers return to the track on the 17th September to dispute the sixth of the nine rounds in the 2016 WEC season in Austin, Texas (USA) for the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas.