Brazilian endurance racer Pipo Derani heads to Silverstone for the first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend.

The 22 year-old made history last month when he became the first ever driver to win the Daytona and Sebring classic endurance races at his first attempt and in the same season. Derani, one of sportscars hottest racing properties, now starts his second FIA WEC LMP2 campaign.

Racing for the Tequila Patrón ESM squad, he will be joined in the No.31 Ligier JS P2 Nissan cockpit by Ryan Dalziel (GBR) and Chris Cumming (CDN).

After a stellar start to the 2016 racing season, Pipo will return to the scene of his FIA WEC debut last year when he announced himself on the global stage with pole position and an excellent second placed race finish.

This year sees the most competitive entry ever assembled in the LMP2 class. The category will feature seven other teams and several new high profile ex-F1 and GP2 drivers.

“It feels really good to be back in the FIA WEC,” said Derani. “I love racing in the UK and I had a strong weekend at Silverstone in 2015. This season we are very motivated at the Tequila Patrón ESM team to keep the good momentum going. It will be a tough challenge because we have some very good opposition, but with Ryan and Chris I think we form a very competitive team.”

“This is the start of a long championship with nine races over seven months. We will race with a Nissan engine this weekend in our Ligier. It is the same package I raced with last year and I know it can get results. I am very hungry to start the FIA WEC season and there is a good feeling within the Tequila Patrón ESM team to attain more success.”

Pipo will be on track at Silverstone from Friday 15th April with two Free Practice sessions. A third Free Practice session takes place on Saturday morning before the qualifying period in the afternoon.

The 6 Hours of Silverstone, the first round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled to start at 12.00 on Sunday afternoon.