It was another superb debut for the Brazilian, Pipo Derani, in his short sportscar career at the weekend. The Brazilian driver won this Saturday (19th March) the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida (USA), alongside teammates Scott Sharp, Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek aboard the No.2 Tequila Patrón ESM Ligier JS P2 Honda.
It was another exceptional performance from Derani, which was described in the motorsport press as both ‘stunning’ and ‘a starring drive’.
Only seven weeks after winning the 24 Hours of Daytona, the quartet returned to the top of the podium in the 64th edition of the endurance classic at Sebring. 22 year-old, become the first Brazilian to win Daytona and Sebring in the same season. It was the first time he has competed in both races.
It was a race full of emotions, which had more than two hours of red flag conditions due to heavy rain that fell after 2hrs 30mins.
Derani was responsible for the start in the No.2 Tequila Patrón ESM Ligier JS P2 Honda. Despite losing a place at the start, he remained among the leading group in the initial stint. The team showed good pace throughout the race and completed excellent pit stop strategies.
The victory was confirmed in the final minutes after the 13th and final yellow flag of the race. Derani occupied fourth place and was very aggressive in the final 10 minutes to ensure the victory with two decisive overtaking moves on the Corvettes of the Action Express Racing.
“It was great! It is unbelievable to win Daytona and Sebring in the same year”, said Derani. “It was an extremely difficult race, starting in the dry, then wet and the red flag. I also did a long stint with slick tires in the rain and then, in the end, the last two hours were pure emotion”, said Derani.
“In the last 15 minutes, we were in fourth place, after doing a stint leading, so it was really a spectacular win. The team did a great job to give me this car able to make these overtaking moves at the end, and it was our day to win. I had a chance to take the victory and could not pass up on it”, concluded Derani.
After the two wins in the United States by IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, Derani is now even more motivated for the start of the 2016 FIA WEC (World Endurance Championship) season. The Brazilian will compete in the LMP2 category for the second consecutive year, again racing for the the Tequila Patrón ESM squad. The championship starts on April 17th with the 6 Hours of Silverstone (UK).