Pipo Derani 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 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship draws to a close on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Road Atlanta with the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans. The race also represents the season finale for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. The 21st annual Motul Petit Le Mans headlines an event week at the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta circuit that also includes the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge’s two-hour Fox Factory 120 , which wraps up its 2018 campaign on Friday, Oct. 12. OtherRead 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

MONTEREY, Calif. – Derani Joins No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Team Alongside Nasr for Full 2019 WeatherTech Championship Action Express Racing today confirmed its full-season driver lineups for the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The lineup for its No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R came as no surprise, as the team confirmed current drivers Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa will continue in the car, along with Christian Fittipaldi in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in what will be his final race as a driver. The big surprise was the addition ofRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was an action-packed two hours and 40 minutes of racing at Road America in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase with all the drama and plot twists of a summer blockbuster. Especially in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class, the strategic battle came right down to the end as the No. 54 CORE autosport team of Colin Braun and Jon Bennett emerged victorious for the second time in a row, while the Ford Chip Ganassi train kept a rollin’ inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — After a fiery start to Friday practice, the No. 22 Nissan DPi of Extreme Speed Motorsports was top of the time sheet in Sunday morning warmup ahead of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Pipo Derani went around the 4.048 mile road course with a fast lap of 1 minute, 53.030 seconds for an average speed of 128.928 mph. Second fastest was the No. 7 Acura Team Penske entry of Ricky Taylor,Read More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – This past weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans featured a host of IMSA competitors, including a few that stood on the podium Sunday afternoon. Here’s a look back at how the IMSA regulars fared: Laurens Vanthoor No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR Class: GTE Pro Result: 1st Vanthoor joined co-drivers Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre in winning the GTE Pro class for the Germany-based No. 92 Porsche team. It was the first Le Mans victory for all three drivers andRead 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. – Heading into Sunday’s 102nd Indianapolis 500, we asked IMSA drivers to submit their predictions on who would drink the milk in victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. And if there’s one thing we learned, it’s that IMSA drivers are incredibly loyal to their teammates. So, without further ado, here are their somewhat “predictable” predictions: Ryan Briscoe, No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: “I really can’t pick anyone other than Scott Dixon for a few reasons. No. 1,Read More