Johannes van Overbeek Tag

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Last month at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Johannes van Overbeek and co-driver Pipo Derani were celebrating an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory following the America’s Tire 250. At the end of Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, van Overbeek will retire as a full-time driver. “I thought about retiring last year, and then in discussions with (Patrón Spirits President/CEO) Ed Brown, he said, ‘Hey things are going to be different at the end of next year,’” said the 45-year-old driverRead More

By IMSA Wire Service MONTEREY, Calif. – In a wild two-hour and 40-minute penultimate round of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi co-drivers Pipo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek rebounded from early setbacks to score their second victory of the season in the America’s Tire 250. Van Overbeek started the car from the rear of the Prototype grid as he missed Saturday’s qualifying session due to illness, and he managed to avoid an opening-lap incident that removed theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DETROIT– Felipe Albuquerque and Mario Farnbacher led their respective classes in Saturday’s warmup session ahead of the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. The Prototype and GTD-only event had Felipe Albuquerque setting the fastest lap of the session in his No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi machine with a lap of 1 minute, 22.958 seconds around the 2.3 mile street circuit. Albuquerque and co-driver Joao Barbosa roll off fourth for Saturday’s race which isn’t surprising given that they were thirdRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DETROIT, Mich. – Pipo Derani and the No. 22 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan DPi team pulled off an upset Friday in Motul Pole Award qualifying for Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park. On a four-minute sprint following a brief red flag due to an incident involving the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA LMP2 car of Robert Alon, Derani shot to the top of the charts with a lap of one minute, 22.273 seconds (102.828 mph). The Brazilian then managedRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will make its first visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, marking IMSA’s first appearance at the circuit since a GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series event in 2013, for the two-hour and 40-minute Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, May 6. The race features a 35-car entry list across three WeatherTech Championship classes, Prototype (P) with 14 entries, GT Le Mans (GTLM) with eight, and GT Daytona (GTD) – which returns to action after sitting outRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 100-minute BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach reverts to a two-class race in 2018, featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype and GT Le Mans (GTLM) classes. The same two classes also were featured at Long Beach in 2014 and 2015. The Prototype Challenge class participated in 2016, while the GT Daytona (GTD) class raced in Long Beach last year. The entry list for the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach features 22 cars, withRead More

By IMSA Wire Service SEBRING, Fla. – There was only one driver lineup entered in this year’s 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts made up entirely of past overall race winners. It was only fitting, then, that lineup – comprised of Pipo Derani, Nicolas Lapierre and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi – combined Saturday to give Nissan its first win in the endurance classic in almost 25 years. Derani – who joined van Overbeek in the winningRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Appropriately enough, after 24 hours of seemingly non-stop action, the fastest car still running was the overall winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani, a baby-faced 22-year old racing prodigy from Brazil, took the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon in the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Honda-powered Ligier JS P2, 26.166 seconds ahead of 2005 overall winner Max Angelleli in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP. Derani brought home victory for teammates Scott Sharp,Read More